Pursuit's Take
DOL’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Agency Financial Statements estimated that national UI overpayments totaled $5.4 billion, and it is estimated that 3.19 percent of all UI benefit payments were due to fraud as defined by the individual states resulting in an estimated $1.5 billion in losses due to fraud. Over the past five years, the OIG has conducted 750 UI fraud investigations nationwide, which have resulted in 1200 criminal convictions and have identified more than $67.5 million in improper UI payments. OIG’s investigative program has determined that UI fraud through identity theft is particularly prevalent in South Florida, where the OIG has completed 79 UI fraud investigations since 2010, resulting in 50 criminal convictions.
Fraud in the Unemployment Insurance Program