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This audit report is the fifth and final in a series of audit reports on Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) claims processing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report identifies that Michigan's UIA did not accurately assess fraud penalties on claims when it determined intentional misrepresentation occurred, and estimates the agency undercalculated penalties on these claims by nearly 50 percent.

The federal CARES Act created new federal unemployment compensation (UC) programs including Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, increasing the weekly benefit amount, and expanding eligibility to claimants not otherwise eligible for unemployment benefits. From March 15, 2020, through June 30, 2022, the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) paid $39.9 billion in UC claims from 5.8 million claims created for 3.48 claimants. This audit report is the fourth of a series of five audit reports on UIA claims...

From March 2020 through June 2021, the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) workforce increased from 754 to a monthly high of 4,410 in April 2021. UIA expended $171.7 million through June 2021 for the additional staffing resources. During this period, UIA processed 5.2 million UI claims and paid over $36.5 billion in UI benefits. The objectives for this audit were to assess the sufficiency of selected UIA practices for workers onboarding and offboarding during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide information on the administrative funding available to UIA during the COVID-19 pandemic and other...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020 effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriated for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity, coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chair of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVD-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

The Justice Department announced today the results of a coordinated, nationwide enforcement action to combat COVID-19 fraud, which included 718 enforcement actions – including federal criminal charges against 371 defendants – for offenses related to over $836 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud.

DETROIT - A Commerce Township resident pleaded guilty today to orchestrating a fraud scheme involving approximately $851,000 in loans intended to help small businesses stay afloat during the

DETROIT - Eleven residents of southeast Michigan have been charged in a 23-count indictment for their alleged role in a multi-million-dollar unemployment insurance fraud scheme targeting funds set

DETROIT - A Detroit area brother and sister, along with two other individuals, have been charged in a criminal complaint for their alleged role in a multi-million-dollar unemployment

DETROIT - Semaje Reffigee, a former employee of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA), was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment today arising from her participation in a $313,000

DETROIT – A Detroit resident pleaded guilty today to engaging in an extensive unemployment fraud conspiracy with a former State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency contract employee, whereby

DETROIT - Three Macomb County residents were charged for their alleged roles in a multi-million-dollar Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison

Two Michigan nonprofit organizations, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA), have agreed to settle allegations that the organizations violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by applying for and obtaining loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for which they knew or should have known they were ineligible.

Grand Rapids man sentenced to 87 months for role in conspiracy to obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Kurtis VanderMolen Obtained Paycheck Protection Program Loans for a Fake Company and Used the Money for a BMW Convertible and Other Personal Expenses.

Georgia man becomes last of five defendants convicted in prosecution of conspiracy to obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds

A federal jury in Detroit convicted a Michigan man today for a wire fraud and money laundering scheme to obtain more than $4.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The objectives of this audit were to (1) assess the sufficiency of selected Unemployment Insurance Agency practices for worker onboarding and offboarding during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to provide information on the administrative funding available to the Unemployment Insurance Agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and other relevant data. We found that the practices were not sufficient.

A Michigan woman pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Michigan to stealing government funds that were designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and using them for her own personal expenses.