Convicted Frauds TRIED To Steal $13M Meant For Seniors As California PAID The Most

A married couple ran a company called Pearl Transit that said it drove seniors and people with disabilities to their appointments. According to federal prosecutors, it had no drivers and gave no rides, and some of its listed passengers were already dead. It asked for more than $13 million in federal transit and housing money and was paid more than $1.6 million. California paid the most: about $430,000 from LA Metro and $283,000 from Kern County. A federal prosecutor said the couple "traded their Tuscan spa robes for his and hers orange jumpsuits."

So how does a company that never gave a ride get paid by Los Angeles?

How Pearl Transit invented drivers and riders with stolen identities Which agencies paid, and how much each one sent Porsche rentals, Loro Piana and four months of travel How New York's comptroller caught it, and why New York paid nothing The $50,000 they tried to get from San Bernardino while she was in jail The 3D-printed dentures sold to homeless people What happens at sentencing in January Jael Watts and Luis Pino-Copete were convicted by a federal jury in October 2026. Sentencing has not happened yet, and both can still appeal.

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