M
markomalley
Guest
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
State officials say they have found more than 1,100 inmates who they believe improperly collected unemployment benefits totaling more than $2 million while jailed in Illinois sometime in about the last year.
One Cook County inmate collected almost $43,000, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, though most were paid far less. Nearly all of the fraud occurred in mid-2012 from county jails across the state.
Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that many of the recipients could face charges, though some may have been paid too little to make prosecution worthwhile. The department says it will also garnish tax returns where it can to recover money.
“Assuming that the individual knew that benefits were being paid for him, we would first start with that individual, take a look at the circumstances, take a look at the length of the fraud and take a look at their willingness to cooperate in repaying the dollars, and we would consider all of that,” department spokesman Greg Rivara said.
This is the poster child example of the problem with government subsidies.
State officials say they have found more than 1,100 inmates who they believe improperly collected unemployment benefits totaling more than $2 million while jailed in Illinois sometime in about the last year.
One Cook County inmate collected almost $43,000, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, though most were paid far less. Nearly all of the fraud occurred in mid-2012 from county jails across the state.
Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that many of the recipients could face charges, though some may have been paid too little to make prosecution worthwhile. The department says it will also garnish tax returns where it can to recover money.
“Assuming that the individual knew that benefits were being paid for him, we would first start with that individual, take a look at the circumstances, take a look at the length of the fraud and take a look at their willingness to cooperate in repaying the dollars, and we would consider all of that,” department spokesman Greg Rivara said.
This is the poster child example of the problem with government subsidies.