Posted on 09/22/2022 5:03:05 PM PDT by george76
The Department of Labor announced Thursday that 1,000 people have been charged for receiving $45.6 billion of fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) payments since March 2020.
The pandemic overwhelmed state offices responsible for distributing benefits, with 57 million people filing initial UI claims within five months of March 2020, the DOL-OIG reported. Fraudsters were successfully able to take advantage of the chaos, filing for claims in multiple states, using fraudulent emails and using the Social Security Numbers (SSN) of dead people and federal prisoners..
Federal and state governments together paid out roughly $794 in unemployment benefits between March 2020 and July 2021, more relief than any period in history, CNBC reported. Fraudulent payouts amounting to $45.6 billion would thus account for roughly 5.75% of pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
“This milestone of 1,000 individuals being charged with crimes involving UI fraud and the identification of $45.6 billion in potentially fraudulent UI payments highlights the magnitude of this problem,” said Inspector General Larry Turner in the OIG’s press release. “Hundreds of billions in pandemic funds attracted fraudsters seeking to exploit the UI program—resulting in historic levels of fraud and other improper payments.”
...
The DOL-OIG notes that the program was exploited with “easily attainable” personally identifiable information by both individual fraudsters and “organized criminal groups,” in its report. To combat the growing problem, the DOL-OIG subpoenaed the records of every state to build a national database of UI records.
More than 190,000 investigations into UI fraud have been launched since the pandemic began, more than 1,000 times the typical volume, the DOL-OIG reported. With less than 140 criminal investigators, the organization was forced to focus on organized crime and “large-scale identity theft schemes.”
In one case, 11 “members and associates of a gang.” were convicted for the theft of roughly $4.3 million in UI benefits, according to the DOL-OIG. While the DOL-OIG report notes that the defendants filed for approximately $20 million worth of benefits, it does not say whether the agency or the Department of Justice (DOJ), who collaborated with the DOL-OIG to combat fraud, was able to recover any of the money that was paid out.
The recently-passed CHIPs Act, which has been praised by President Joe Biden for helping to “build the future in America,” allocated $50 billion in incentives for manufacturing projects in the U.S. This is just $4.4 billion more than the fraud announced Thursday by the DOL-OIG.
...
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
I’ll bet its foreign born crooks, legal and illegal immigrants and good luck getting that money back.
The same dead people that vote for Dems I wonder?
I’m sorry, but we are going to have to start hanging thieves.
There are too many of them and they aren’t afraid of having to go to prison.
ANY period would include the entire period between 1969 and 2019! 50 years. Hey, it is one period, and the article said "any."
I don't doubt the fraud set a record, but c'mon. A little accuracy would be appreciated.
The average per offender = $45.6 million.
Jimmy Cagney was in a 1960-ish movie: “Never Steal Anything Small”
“That’s where the money is”: Willie Sutton
Once again, OUR tax dollars put to good use. Heh.
I will
Round up the usual suspects
You pull some of the most esoteric items from your massive memory!
Too many thieves? About 250 congress critters would be a good start... but convict in court and not hang them.Afterall we should have compassion. They are just trying to help.
YES, you really DO have to say it!!
Here are your winnings.
45.6 million per head? Pretty good haul.
Woohoo!!!!!!!!
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈🎈🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉🎉
They caught 1000 fraudsters. Other 99,000 got away with big money.
You know me
:)
Per NewsMax reporting today, the government’s Covid relief package that was dispensed was $900 billion and $400 billion of it was looted.
You’d think that much money would require more of an investigation sooner but it just shows money means nothing to the government, easy come easy go.
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