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From direct stimulus payments to unemployment benefits, Americans have received several different forms of financial aid during the pandemic. But a large chunk of that aid - as much as 50% - might not have made it into the hands of the right people. Axios reported on Thursday that unemployment fraud has been on the rise during the pandemic, with Blake Hall, the CEO of ID.me, a fraud-prevention service, telling the news service that America has lost $400 billion to fraudulent claims and that as much as 50% of unemployment claims might have been stolen. The CEO of LexisNexis Risk...

California may have sent out $10 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits, with some of the funds even going to organized crime organizations in China and Russia. California hired Blake Hall’s ID.me to investigate fraud in October, and he said that at least 10% of unemployment claims before that month were fraudulent. Hall puts the amount of fraud sent out at around $9.8 billion, from March to September 2020. Hall added in his interview with the Los Angeles Times that a good amount of the fraud is due to organized crime gangs in foreign countries. "When the Russians and the Nigerians...

Criminals may have stolen as much as half of the unemployment benefits the U.S. has been pumping out over the past year, some experts say. Why it matters: Unemployment fraud during the pandemic could easily reach $400 billion, according to some estimates, and the bulk of the money likely ended in the hands of foreign crime syndicates — making this not just theft, but a matter of national security. Catch up quick: When the pandemic hit, states weren't prepared for the unprecedented wave of unemployment claims they were about to face. They all knew fraud was inevitable, but decided getting...

Ohio continues to add resources to a public-private partnership to combat unemployment fraud, which the state says has cost taxpayers more than $200 million, and the newest additions are a pair of big names. Gov. Mike DeWine announced recently a new agreement between the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Google to conduct data analytics on all outstanding claims. The state will pay the tech company $1.4 million to use Google Analytics to help discover fraud. “This is one of the first things the private sector group told me when they came in is drilling down on this...

Authorities think the group is using a database of stolen identity informationThe US Secret Service says it is investigating a Nigerian crime ring that has been using Americans’ stolen identities to file fraudulently for unemployment benefits, according to Krebs on Security. Authorities say members of the ring were able to exploit weak security measures within many states’ unemployment systems at a time when millions of Americans are applying for benefits. The agency sent a memo to field offices late last week which said the Nigeria-based ring appeared to be using a “substantial” database of stolen personal information, much of it...

With all the media panic about sequestration, one would think a study finding billions of dollars of fraud in a government program would be national news. Apparently not, for with few exceptions, a report published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve last week finding $3.3 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims in 2011 got almost no attention: The unemployment insurance program in the U.S. offers benefits to workers if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. In 2011, this program cost $108 billion, of which nearly $3.3 billion was spent on overpayments due to fraud. Unemployment insurance fraud...

Labor Dept. Estimates $7.1 Billion in Overpayments to UnemployedBy ALICE GOMSTYN ABC NEWS Business Unit July 9, 2010 While many Americans are feeling the pain of expired unemployment benefits, some have gotten a good chunk more than they were legally eligible for. Preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Department of Labor find that, in 2009, states made more than $7.1 billion in overpayments in unemployment insurance, up from $4.2 billion the year before. The total amount of unemployment benefits paid in 2009 was $76.8 billion, compared to $41.6 billion in 2008. Fraud accounted for $1.55 billion in estimated overpayments last...

Don't spend that unemployment check too fast. The government might ask you to pay it back. Overpayments are a rampant problem in the unemployment insurance system. The federal government and states overpaid an estimated $14 billion in benefits in fiscal 2011, or roughly 11% of all the jobless benefits paid out, according to reports from the U.S. Labor Department. Of the states, Indiana was the worst offender, making more improper payments than it did correct ones. Now, the U.S. Department of Labor and the states are in the midst of a massive effort to try to recoup some of their...