‘Massive’ unemployment fraud enterprise targeting expanded benefits busted in Maryland
Thieves allegedly made fraudulent claims totaling more than $500 million
Raymond James policy analyst Ed Mills and American Institute for Economic Research President Edward Stringham discuss the high amount of money the federal government has spent to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus and the long-term impact of this spending.
A massive unemployment insurance theft scheme, with claims totaling more than $501 million, has been discovered in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday.
About 47,500 people were involved in what Hogan described as a massive, sophisticated and coordinated scheme, whereby criminals used stolen identities from national data breaches to try to get unemployment assistance money.
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Under the CARES Act, eligible Americans who are out of work entirely or underemployed because of reasons related to coronavirus can receive an additional $600 a week until the end of July.
Overall, more than 47,500 fraudulent claims were said to have been made.
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“The state of Maryland exposing this illegal scheme and notifying the federal authorities has helped shed light on related fraudulent criminal activities in at least a dozen other states,” Hogan said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The state’s Department of Labor was tipped off to the scheme by an unusual increase in out-of-state federal pandemic unemployment assistance claims, Hogan said.
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As of June 20, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was nearly 19.3 million.
Studies have shown that benefits for 68 percent of workers would exceed earnings.
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