Casting a wide net snares unintended victims. A state crackdown on bogus benefit claims during the pandemic layoffs surge is a fresh example, Michigan Radio reports:
Unemployment checks have stopped coming for some legitimately out-of-work Michiganders.
State officials say criminals are filing huge numbers of false claims, and that could cost the unemployment system in Michigan hundreds of millions of dollars, if not checked.
The state has flagged 340,000 claims as potentially fraudulent. But officials acknowledge many of those claims are valid. ...
State officials say they've assigned an additional 600 people to sort through the flagged claims as quickly as possible, and get legitimate claimants back on schedule for receiving benefits.
Michigan grapples with 2.2 million new jobless aid claims since March, when employers began closing to curb the spread of Covid. More than 1.7 million people have been paid $9 billion-plus in a state that had the second-highest unemployment rate in April (22.7%).
This state's maximum weekly benefit of $362 is supplemented by $600 a week more in federal coronavirus relief law.
In Lansing, labor and economic opportunity director Jeff Donofrio cites "a significant amount of fraud in new claims. Impostors use data from past data breaches at crfedit reporting agencies, eBay, retail chains and hundreds of other businesses, he tells reporters in a video conference call.
"It's sickening criminals would put us in this situation," the Freep quotes the department head as saying. "We don't want to harm legitimate people. We're taking the cautious approach here."
A “large number” of people associated with the 340,000 frozen accounts -- 15% of new claims -- are eligible for benefits, Donofrio acknowledges. "Our priority continues to be identifying and paying legitimate claimants the benefits they need and deserve," a statement says.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel last Friday announced a task force to identify and prosecute fraudsters and to recover illegally obtained benefits.
