A seventh inmate at the Terminal Island federal prison in San Pedro has died from COVID-19, and more than 700 people at the facility have contracted the coronavirus, federal authorities said Saturday.

Scott Douglas Cutting Sr., 70, was serving a 26-month sentence at Terminal Island for tax fraud. On April 14, Cutting was sent to a local hospital and placed on a ventilator a day later, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Soon after, he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Cutting, who had underlying health conditions that made him more susceptible to the virus, died on Saturday, May 9, officials said.

Many of Terminal Island’s 1,042 prisoners need long-term medical or mental health care. It is a specialized prison used for low-security inmates with those types of conditions, making it especially susceptible to COVID-19.

So far, 693 inmates and 15 staffers have been confirmed to have the coronavirus since officials began mass-testing at the facility. This has prompted protests from prisoners’ families and condemnation from members of congress who say the prison hasn’t done enough to protect inmates or release those at risk of dying from COVID-19.

Other prisoners who have died include men who were serving time for immigration-related charges and drug offenses.

Cutting arrived at Terminal Island in January after being convicted last year on six counts of assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, according to authorities.

“Cutting filed tax returns on behalf of low- or no-income individuals that falsely claimed income or credits to create a tax refund,” federal prosecutors said in a statement when he was convicted. He would file the returns electronically and have the returns automatically deposited in his account, often giving his clients only a small portion of what was refunded, according to the statement.

“Cutting often filed tax returns for people when he had no authority to do so—including for dead people—using personal identifying information of individuals and their family members without their permission,” federal prosecutors said.

Officials said he filed 477 bogus tax returns, resulting in the IRS refunding approximately $1,392,765.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.