Unemployment Fraud – What It All About and Why Hire a Lawyer

What Is Unemployment Fraud?

Unemployment fraud happens when you willingly or unknowingly conceal, misrepresent, lie, or provide incorrect information to get a benefit payment or increase it. An unemployed benefit fraud merely is making a false statement about your employment status and earnings. At times, unemployment cases may comprise of unreported travels, work refusals, checks forgery, inability to work, identity theft, non-availability for work, incarceration, dependent allowance and much more.

Other forms in which unemployed fraud can come in include working while collecting the unemployed benefits, if you fail to report income report and other benefits; you are not actively seeking employment while you receive unemployment benefits, falsifying your reasons for unemployment and collecting the allowance under a fictitious name. It is a crime also if you are caught cashing out the benefits meant for another person without their consent, and if you try to collect unemployment benefits from different states illegally. If you are assisting another person in unemployed fraud, you will also be culpable. An example is when an employer willingly takes part in data misrepresentation. They will face the full wrath of the law.

Can One Receive Unemployment Benefits?

When one collects unemployment benefits yet they are not actively looking for employment; they are committing unemployment fraud. When one retires and are not seeking employment anymore, they must not receive unemployment benefits. If your employer forces you to retire, however, then you can lawfully qualify for unemployed benefits. Nonetheless, you need to seek employment to continue being eligible. Your benefits though would expire much faster than had you not been collecting the retirement benefits.

How Unemployed Fraud Is Detected

There are multiple ways in which unemployment insurance fraud can be detected. For example, they can be recognized through public tips by the internet, telephone or mail, through the new employers’ hire report, quality control audits, claim center referrals, cross-matches with other government records, and through more investigation efforts. Recently, other new strategies for detecting unemployment benefit offenders are developed by the day, making it hard for offenders to hide for too long. This form of fraud is punishable once caught.

Consequences of Committing Unemployment Fraud

Unemployment Insurance fraud can be committed both knowingly and unknowingly. Once they catch up with you, one is required to reimburse all the benefits that you have illegally received and an additional penalty of 50% of the total reimbursement sum. Other consequences include the following.

1. Repayment of debt

Even if you have spent the money collected, it has to be recovered. You are in debt with the country or your state. This government debt will be prioritized over any other debts you have. Worse still, your wage may have to be used to repay the debt.

2. Prevented from collecting in future

This fraud doesn’t necessarily bar you from receiving the benefit in future; however, it might be made much hard for you. You will be subjected to more scrutiny. You will need to fulfill every term detailed in the contract. At times you may be equally disqualified from the benefit, but this depends on the magnitude of the fraud.

3. Charges will be pressed against you

Criminal charges will be pressed against, you if the amount of money you fraudulently obtained is too huge. Also, if you have been involved in various other crimes of the same manner, you will face criminal charges. Severe charges, e.g., longer jail sentences will be your portion if you have committed big unemployment scams.

4. You will have a criminal record

When a person gets convicted of any crime, the consequences stick with them for life. Whether or not you face prosecution in the court, all unemployment fraud remains a criminal act and goes into your record. Criminal records cause problems in future, as one may be precluded from enrolling in government jobs or even some private posts.

Why You Need an Employment Fraud Lawyer

If you are culpable of UI and decision that is not favorable is made against you, you will be required to appeal the decision within a specified duration. The unemployment insurance laws are complex and vary from state to another. Hiring unemployment fraud lawyers during this low time will enable you to know what your rights. They also help clients file an appeal when they are found on the wrong.