A partnership combining the resources of the Connecticut Department of Labor and Chief State’s Attorney’s Office is fighting fraud by tracking down and prosecuting offenders for collecting Unemployment Compensation benefits to which they were not entitled.
The partnership has resulted in establishment of the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit in the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. Two inspectors and a prosecutor work with CTDOL to identify cases of deliberate fraud and then obtain arrest warrants following a thorough investigation.
Nationally, Connecticut has one of the best performance records in terms of successfully minimizing the number of unemployment insurance overpayments, but Connecticut is making it a top priority to implement new strategies and technologies to help maintain the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund and discourage those who are trying to cheat the system.
Overview
In order to help maintain the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund and discourage those who are trying to cheat the system, the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit was established in the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. This unit was created to track down and prosecute offenders for collecting Unemployment Compensation benefits to which they were not entitled.
In addition to fighting unemployment insurance fraud, the Labor Department is also working to prevent employers from committing fraud which is often known as misclassification. In these cases, employers deliberately treat workers as independent contractors rather than actual employees of the company, which means they avoid the expense of paying important protections, such as unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation.
The severity of the penalty depends upon the severity of the offense – for example, a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community and up to 5 years for Unemployment Compensation Fraud.
To Report Unemployment Insurance Fraud
- Complete the CTDOL Report Benefits Fraud Form