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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

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Convicted Murderer Collected More Than $30K in Unemployment While in Jail

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Garcia and his crime scene tattoo (Courtesy LASD)

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Just because you don't have a job doesn't mean you qualify for unemployment checks.

Take the case of convicted killer Anthony Garcia, who managed to collect more than $30,000 in unemployment while he was in jail from 2008 to 2010, according to the Associated Press. Garcia managed to get his father and two (read 'em TWO) girlfriends in on the apparent scheme to bilk the unemployment system. They would get the checks, cash them and then deposit the money in his inmate accounts and those of other gang members. Thanks, EDD!

Garcia, who also goes by the name "Chopper," is quite a character as far as murderers go. In 2008, he confessed to killing a rival gang member in 2004—a case that had gone cold up until a detective with the sheriff's department recognized his tattoo depicting the murder at a Pico Rivera liquor store.

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