Pacoima Man, 41, Dies Day Before Beginning 3-Year Prison Term

PACOIMA — A man convicted of welfare fraud died Monday, the day before he was to begin serving a three-year prison sentence, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said it is investigating the death of Ruben H. Mattioli, 41, of Pacoima, who was scheduled to surrender in Superior Court on Tuesday morning.

Mattioli was pronounced dead at County-USC Medical Center on Monday afternoon after paramedics transported him from a clinic at 1300 N. Mission Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Coroner’s office spokesman Scott Carrier said there was no outward indication of foul play.

“There’s no evidence of any significant trauma,” Carrier said. “The guy’s in his 40s [and] really doesn’t have a lot of significant medical history, from what we can understand. Right now, it’s too early for us to determine anything.”

Mattioli and his mother, Atanacia, 67, collaborated with a county Department of Public Social Services worker to embezzle a combined $123,000 from welfare rolls. Mattioli pleaded guilty last month to theft of government funds. His mother pleaded no contest to similar charges and received three years’ probation and a $200 fine.

Former county employee Karina Hopewell, 34, a Palmdale resident, pleaded guilty to welfare fraud in November and was sentenced to three years in prison.