Federal watchdog officials are asking Congress to extend the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19 pandemic-era unemployment fraud cases. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Department of Labor Inspector  General (DOL) Larry Turner testified (pdf) that he expects his department to be busy investigating pandemic-related fraud through at least September 2026…

The House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing at 10:00 a.m. ET on Feb. 8 on “The Greatest Theft of Taxpayer Dollars: Unchecked Unemployment Fraud,” with testimony from U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Department of Labor Inspector General Larry Turner, and Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Chair Michael Horowitz. The Epoch Times will livestream the…

The House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing at 10:00 a.m. ET on Feb. 8 on “The Greatest Theft of Taxpayer Dollars: Unchecked Unemployment Fraud,” with testimony from U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Department of Labor Inspector General Larry Turner, and Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Chair Michael Horowitz. The Epoch Times will livestream the…

More than 900 fraud cases linked to pandemic-related relief funds are being investigated, said a U.S. Secret Service statement issued Tuesday. In the statement, the Secret Service added there was potentially fraudulent activity nearing $100 billion related to the relief funds last year. The $100 billion figure is based on the aggregate of two previous…

SAN DIEGO—A San Diego woman, who used to be a contract employee with the state’s unemployment insurance program, has been sentenced Dec. 15 to just over two years in prison for her role in a scheme to take pandemic unemployment aid funds. Nyika Gomez, 41, who worked as a call center agent assisting people in processing their unemployment insurance…

As California faces a $20 billion unemployment fraud deficit, businesses may be required to pay back the funds, according to Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Huntington Beach). Bates said employers will be responsible for paying back the money lost from fraudulent unemployment benefit claims in 2022, as required by federal law. “That’s going to be a burden…

As California faces a $20 billion unemployment fraud deficit, businesses may be required to pay back the funds, according to Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Huntington Beach). Bates said employers will be responsible for paying back the money lost from fraudulent unemployment benefit claims in 2022, as required by federal law. “That’s going to be a burden…

WASHINGTON—Generous unemployment benefits put in place by the CARES Act and subsequent relief packages have become an easy target for identity thieves and other criminals since the beginning of the pandemic last year. Most states have been hit by fraud committed on a vast scale, mainly by international organized crime rings. In March, the Labor…

Commentary An inspector with San Mateo District Attorney’s (SMDA) office says he was the first in California to uncover the multibillion-dollar unemployment scandal last summer. Jordan Boyd discovered the Employment Development Department (EDD) fraud while monitoring a county jail inmate’s recorded phone call. Boyd told California Insider that he overheard in calls a discussion about a scam that…

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a rise in unemployment fraud and hate crimes, Orange County elected officials say. Right now, Employment Development Department (EDD) fraud is one of the largest challenges the state is facing, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) said during a March 26 virtual town hall….