Feds charge 1,000 defendants in pandemic unemployment fraud investigation

by AHTRA ELNASHAR | The National Desk

Sat, September 24th 2022, 12:10 AM UTC

FILE - Web pages used to show information for collecting unemployment insurance in Virginia, right, and reporting fraud and identity theft in Pennsylvania, are displayed on the respective state web pages, on Feb. 26, 2021, in Zelienople, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, file photo, envelopes from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Reemployment Assistance Program are shown, in Surfside, Fla. Unemployment fraud in the U.S. has reached dramatic levels during the pandemic: more than $63 billion has been paid out improperly through fraud or errors since March 2020. Criminals are seizing on the opportunity created by the pandemic and are making false claims using stolen information. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

FILE - This image taken with a drone shows exterior of the headquarters of the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond, Va., Thursday, April 15, 2021. Four people have been charged with conspiring to use the personal identifying information of 35 Virginia prison inmates in order to fraudulently obtain over $300,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, authorities announced Friday, May 6, 2022. The charges mark the latest in a series of criminal cases brought in Virginia over unemployment fraud, which has been widespread across the country amid the pandemic. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

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FILE - Web pages used to show information for collecting unemployment insurance in Virginia, right, and reporting fraud and identity theft in Pennsylvania, are displayed on the respective state web pages, on Feb. 26, 2021, in Zelienople, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

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