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Show Unemployment Fraud Can Lead To Jail Sentence A Utah Unemployment Insurance claimant recently discovered discov-ered that committing unemployment unemploy-ment insurance fraud can result in a jail term. Judge Robert Hilder of the Third Circuit Court sentenced a claimant with a prior criminal record to a year in jail, fined him $500 and ordered him to pay full restitution to the Utah Department of Employment Security (Job Service). A number of unemployment insurance fraud cases have been processed by Job Service during 1995. According to Evan Mattin-son, Mattin-son, chief of Benefit Payment Control, the total number of cases was 13,259 and 2,170 cases have been referred for administrative hearings. The amount of money to be reclaimed is $1,109,973 which is about 1.6 percent of the total benefits paid in 1995, according to Mattinson. Of these cases, 53 have been referred for criminal prosecution. prosecu-tion. Vince Iturbe, who handles the prosecution cases in the courts in cooperation with local county attorney offices, noted that the Department of Employment Security Secur-ity did not lose any cases in 1995. Unemployment insurance fraud is a class A misdemeanor and the penalty includes disqualification for future benefits and a requirement to pay back twice the amount fraudulently fraud-ulently obtained. In addition, individual indi-vidual cases referred for prosecution can receive additional fines, probation proba-tion or jail sentences. Most cases of unemployment insurance fraud involved individuals who have not reported work or earnings while collecting benefits Employers are required to report wages on all individual employees on a quarterly basis which makes it 7ee Unemployment Fraud Can Lead To Jail On Page 2A) Unemployment Fraud Is Trouble From Page 1 easier to detect this type of fraud. Some cases, however, involve schemes such as an employer and employee who collude to obtain benefits fraudulently and avoid detection. When employers participate partici-pate in fraud, they are cheating themselves, since they pay for the benefits. The department has several cooperative agreements with other agencies for fraud detection. With this cooperation and the new technology available, Job Service has improved the system of fraud detection. Prevention, however, is the major goal of the department. According to Mattinson, "Most claimants are honest in dealing with the department However, for those who aren't, we aggressively pursue fraud cases to ensure the integrity of the program and protect the employer's em-ployer's investment." |