A partnership between the state Department of Labor and the Division of Criminal Justice has resulted in more than $1 million in unemployment insurance compensation benefits being recovered and the arrest of 125 people charged with illegally collecting more than $3.5 million in benefits.
With the recent repayment of more than $32,000 from one individual who was also charged with embezzlement, the state’s “Chasing Cheaters” program has resulted in the return of $1.04 million to the unemployment fund used for paying benefits. Additional repayments continue to be made as part of court-ordered restitution.
“We are dealing with the intentional theft of tax dollars that have been allocated to benefit those in need. This is not about someone making a mistake,” said Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane. The state Labor Department said in a statement there have been 80 convictions with up to five arrests a month.
During the month of October, an additional $400,000 was prevented from being fraudulently collected with the Labor Department’s use of surveillance measures and the public’s assistance. Citizen tips to the agency’s Online Fraud System prevented $139,697 in fraudulent payments while the surveillance program halted another $268,683 that would have been paid to those not entitled to benefits.
