HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)– A California man pleaded guilty to his involvement in a scheme to launder millions in state unemployment compensation funds from numerous state treasuries, including Pennsylvania.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Carlos A. Grijalva, 59, of Simi Valley, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in the amount of $46.4 million. Grijalva is the second person to plead guilty in connection with the case.

The attorney’s office said Grijalva admitted that he and multiple others agreed to launder state unemployment compensation funds they knew had been fraudulently obtained from 2021 to 2022.

He also admitted to entering into agreements that made it seem like they were operating businesses selling masks and other COVID-19 protection equipment, knowing that funds laundered through their companies came from fraudulently obtained state unemployment compensation benefits, per the attorney’s office.

Grijalva told the court he knew individuals from China were conducting the fraudulent activities, resulting in millions of fraudulent unemployment compensation payments issued by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, among other states.

The attorney’s office said Grijalva also claimed that he and Brian R. Cleland provided bank account information of identity theft victims to payment processing companies to generate ACH payments to accounts he controlled. This resulted in the two obtaining more than $46 million.

According to the attorney’s office, Grijalva and Cleland later used different bank accounts to transfer over $30 million to companies controlled by Bruce Jin. Jin would then transfer a portion of the funds to parties in China.

Grijalva said he made an estimated $2.2 million in personal profit.

The attorney’s office said Jin has been detained since August 2023, and Cleland has pleaded not guilty to his charges and is awaiting trial.