Reports

The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security (DES) limited improper payments to less than 10 percent of paid claims as required by the U.S. Department of Labor, and if not to identify the impact and causes of improper payments. DES reported that the improper unemployment insurance payment rate averaged 18 percent during the period of April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2021. The Auditor noted that DES management should implement U.S. Department of Labor recommendations, best practices, and strategies to limit DES’s improper...

We found the division’s internal controls over the review and processing of unemployment insurance (UI) claims were adequate, and the division was in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, in making these determinations, we identified weaknesses in the division’s monitoring of the call center contract, marketing of the Shared Work Program (SWP), request for proposal of collection and disbursement services, and closing of nonmonetary adjudication cases. In addition, our analysis of the significant number of UI claims beginning March 2020 and its impact on the division’s...

This PRAC fraud prevention alert focused on some of the largest pandemic relief programs: the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the Department of Labor’s (DOL) pandemic-related Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. In 2023, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the DOL OIG estimated that the total amount of fraud and improper payments for these programs is nearly $400 billion. In this alert, the PRAC estimates the amount of potential fraud across these programs stemming from...

Greenbelt , Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Alonzo Brown, 27, of Richmond, Virginia, to 45 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor and California Employment Development Department.

Rochelle Pasley, 34, of Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Mehdi Tazi (29, Tampa) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and a substantive count of aggravated identity theft. Tazi entered a guilty plea on February 2, 2024. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Tazi to pay $1,070,647 in restitution, jointly with his co-conspirators who were previously sentenced for the below listed offenses.