{"id":1173782,"date":"2021-12-30T21:19:47","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T02:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1173782"},"modified":"2021-12-30T21:19:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T02:19:50","slug":"report-michigans-unemployment-agency-paid-up-to-8-5b-in-fraudulent-claims-during-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-michigans-unemployment-agency-paid-up-to-8-5b-in-fraudulent-claims-during-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Michigan&#039;s Unemployment Agency Paid Up to $8.5B in Fraudulent Claims During Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-michigans-unemployment-agency-paid-up-to-8-5b-in-fraudulent-claims-during-pandemic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1173782&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Business-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">The state of Michigan\u2019s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) shelled out as much as $8.5 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic, according to an audit released Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The audit was <a href=\"https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/attachments\/MILEO\/2021\/12\/29\/file_attachments\/2033692\/Letter%20-%20Final_.pdf\">conducted<\/a> by Deloitte and Touche LLP and revealed the state paid an estimated $8.4 billion \u2013 $8.5 billion in fraudulent claims between March 1, 2020 \u2013 September 30, 2021. The report notes that the state avoided paying an estimated $43.7 billion in illegitimate claims over the time period.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>In total, the state received an estimated $52.1 billion \u2013 $52.2 billion in fraudulent imposter and fraudulent misrepresentation claims between&nbsp;March 1, 2020 \u2013 September 30, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan\u2019s UIA Director Julia Dale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/money\/business\/2021\/12\/29\/michigan-unemployment-agency-fraud-claims\/9044502002\/\">told<\/a> the <em>Detroit Free Press<\/em>&nbsp;her first reaction to the report was \u201coutrage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen you look at the numbers here, to say that they\u2019re troubling is an understatement,\u201d Dale explained. \u201cI\u2019m frustrated by those who are out there willing to take advantage&nbsp;of the system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency paid up to $8.5B to fraudulent claims, report shows <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RqQLUweFuk\">https:\/\/t.co\/RqQLUweFuk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Detroit Free Press (@freep) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/freep\/status\/1476273581873061891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 29, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>At its peak, the UIA saw claims increase by a factor of 77 in comparison to pre-pandemic days, according to the report. Moreover, claim volume set a record for the state of Michigan, topping out at 388,000 claims in a single week in the Spring of 2020 \u201ccompared with just 5,000 claims before the pandemic.\u201d Previously, the record for Michigan\u2019s most claims in a single week was 77,000, which occurred during the Great Recession.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan state paid an estimated 2.9 percent, or $242 million \u2013 $249 million, of all fraudulent unemployment payments through the state\u2019s unemployment insurance, per the audit. Conversely, the federal government funded an estimated 97.1 percent of the state\u2019s fraudulent claims, or $8.15 billion \u2013 $8.25 billion, through Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), and other federal programs.<\/p>\n<p>Fraudulent claim issues have been documented in other states as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Michigan paid up to $8.5 billion in fraudulent jobless assistance claims during the pandemic, a new audit found. The governor ordered an advisory body to be set up to investigate unemployment insurance fraud.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OwRfmNmnU5\">https:\/\/t.co\/OwRfmNmnU5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NPR (@NPR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NPR\/status\/1476556435148390402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 30, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>NPR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/30\/1069048017\/michigan-paid-8-5-billion-in-fraudulent-jobless-claims-during-the-pandemic\">reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Other states have reported billions of dollars were also lost to fraudulent claims. In October, Ohio\u2019s jobless agency reported it&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ohioauditor.gov\/auditsearch\/Reports\/2021\/Ohio_Department_of_Job_and_Family_Services_21_Franklin_Unemployment_Fraud_FINAL.pdf\">paid out more than $3.8 billion<\/a>&nbsp;from April 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. And in California, state officials confirmed that its agency paid out at least $20 billion in the form of fraudulent unemployment aid.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/leo\/0,5863,7-336-94422_97241_98585_99416_98657-574687--,00.html\">signed<\/a> an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/documents\/leo\/EO_2021-16_UI_Fraud_Response_Team_final_signed_744451_7.pdf\">executive order<\/a> \u201c<span>permanently establishing the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team,\u201d according to a release from the state\u2019s Labor Department. The group will be \u201can advisory body&nbsp;<\/span><span>within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (department),\u201d the order states. It will coordinate with other state agencies, including law enforcement, to \u201c<\/span><span>identify, investigate and prosecute individuals who steal jobless benefits intended for Michigan workers.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Whitmer signed another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/documents\/leo\/ED_2021-14_Preventing_UI_Fraud_final_signed_744450_7.pdf\">executive order<\/a> Wednesday that directs the UIA to<\/span><span>&nbsp;\u201ccontinue to use new technologies, integrate stakeholder expertise, partner with community organizations to educate potential UI claimants, and prioritize enforcement of UI fraud cases through the Response Team,\u201d per the Labor Department\u2019s release.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The state of Michigan\u2019s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) shelled out as much as $8.5 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic, according to an audit released Wednesday. The audit &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1173782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}