DOL Steps Up Unemployment Fraud Recoveries

According to a recent state Department of Labor (DOL) press release, last month the department collected over $4.6 million in unemployment benefits that had fraudulently been collected by over 5,000 claimants.  The funds were recovered through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) and a state income tax intercept program.  TOP, which is a partnership between the state and federal labor departments and the Internal Revenue Service, intercepts federal tax refunds from people who have not responded to DOL requests to repay unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled.  The state income tax program is a partnership between DOL, and the departments of revenue services and social services.  DOL estimates that the two programs will collect about $8 million in 2013.