Staff Reports
The New York state Labor Department announced this week that 76 people from Western New York were arrested in 2009 for stealing from the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.
Figures released by the Labor Department indicate the 76 cases resulted in theft of $323,965, an average of $4,262.70 per case. Most of those arrested had collected unemployment insurance benefits while earning a paycheck.
All but eight of the arrests occurred in Erie (49 cases) and Niagara (19 cases) counties. There were five cases in Chautauqua County and three from Cattaraugus County.
The cases in Erie County accounted for nearly $220,000 in stolen funds, and an additional $67,245 was stolen in the Niagara County cases.
Governor David Paterson said a “pitfall” of so many New Yorkers collecting unemployment benefits is the fact that there is always someone who will try to take advantage of the system.
“Fortunately we’re doing a great job to keep on top of fraud and the results speak for themselves,” Paterson added.
According to Paterson, the state’s crackdown on unemployment fraud saved businesses more than $35 million in 2009.
The average employer in New York state that has an undetected fraudulent claim filed against it will pay more than $700 in additional taxes the following year, the Labor Department reports.
“It is nothing short of shameful to think that people would steal from a fund designed to help families put food on the table, gas in their cars and clothes on the backs of their children,” said state Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith.
Smith indicated that Governor Paterson has directed the labor department and law enforcement agencies to “remain aggressive” toward those who defraud the unemployment system.
The Labor Department worked with district attorneys and other law enforcement agencies to coordinate the arrests, which resulted from efforts to step up fraud detection through data matching, more proactive investigations and better coordination with local law enforcement and prosecutors.
