100,000 Fraudulent Unemployment Claims Filed In Michigan

Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency says that 100,000 fraudulent claims have been filed most likely by criminals. Since April 2, 100,000 claims have been flagged. 

Liza Estlund Olson, acting director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency, stated in a press release,

"Because of the additional fraud protections we developed last year at the onset of these coordinated attacks on state unemployment agencies, these fraudulent claims have been stopped and no payments have been sent. We continue to be vigilant in protecting the integrity of the system and the benefits for those who rightfully deserve them.”

The Unemployment Insurance Agency told the Detroit Free Press that fake claims are filed using previously stolen or fraudulent personal information. 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.

Those claims, which were for the federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), were stopped for identity verification and not issued payments. Certain fraud protection policies have been relaxed in order to speed up the delivery of benefits for the millions of Michigan residents who were out of work at the start of the pandemic.