Pasadena Man Who Bought Maserati With COVID Relief Money Gets 10 Years in Prison

A Pasadena man was sentenced on April 20 to 10 years behind bars for using stolen identities to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits under the coronavirus federal relief act, which he later used to purchase a Maserati luxury SUV.
Robert Mateer, 32, was also ordered to pay $937,173 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mateer pleaded guilty last year in Los Angeles to federal charges of use of unauthorized access devices, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
During a traffic stop in October 2020, Pasadena Police Department officers arrested Mateer and found inside his Maserati unemployment benefits debit cards, several other credit and debit cards, about $197,711 in cash, more than 85 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded Glock-type pistol with no serial number, prosecutors said….