State Auditor responds to ESD s claim that audit numbers are inflated mynorthwest.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mynorthwest.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dispute in Olympia over claim of $1.1 billion in potential unemployment fraud By Paul Roberts and Jim Brunner, Paul Roberts and Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times
Published: April 14, 2021, 8:19am
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Washington’s unemployment agency was “wholly unprepared” to prevent or even detect a massive criminal fraud scheme that stole more than $640 million amid a surge in jobless claims last year, a new investigation has concluded.
While most of last spring’s fraud has been tied to foreign cybercriminals, one state employee is under criminal investigation for “potential misappropriation” of an undisclosed amount of unemployment benefits, according to reports released Tuesday by the state Auditor’s Office.
New audit reports find that Employment Security Department failed to protect against fraud April 13, 2021 at 2:03 pm
A sign at the headquarters for Washington state s Employment Security Department at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Three audit reports released by the State Auditor’s Office Tuesday concluded that the State Employment Security Department failed to take certain fraud prevention measures, making it more vulnerable to an attack that plagued the department last year, and potentially leading to greater fraud losses than previously believed.
The audits found that total losses to the department could top $1 billion, including not just the known $650 million dollars paid to scammers in last year’s attack, but also another $460 million in “questionable payments” that the Auditor’s Office said ESD has not yet investigated.
Audit: Unemployment fraud in Washington likely higher than $647 million columbian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Audit: Unemployment fraud likely higher than $647 million
By RACHEL LA CORTEApril 13, 2021 GMT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) The amount of fraudulent payments of unemployment benefits distributed in Washington state during the height of the coronavirus pandemic was likely higher than the $647 million identified by the Washington state Employment Security Department, according to a new set of reports released by the state auditor’s office Tuesday.
One of the reports said the ongoing notifications from Washington residents that unemployment claims were filed with their stolen personal information “indicates the actual extent of misappropriation is greater than the Department has been able to capture so far.”