Pandemic relief funding may have put more money in the pockets of Pennsylvanians, but it also gave more opportunity to nefarious fraudsters around the world.

As more money was funneled into unemployment programs across the country, fraudulent claims rose.

One Butler Eagle employee, who declined to be identified, has known the pain of being defrauded.

False claims

“At the time, I didn't know how much they were getting in my name,” the employee said. “You're frightened because it has ramifications that come up later down the road.”

According to Eagle records, the scammer began filing false claims in September and first received a distribution in November.

Upon receiving notice of the first distribution that same month, the Eagle immediately notified the state Department of Labor & Industry of the fraud. Since that notification, 19 more payments totaling $11,160 were made and claimed by the scammer.

According to the Eagle's human resource officer, a “Letter Protesting the Charges” form was submitted to protest the claims and further acknowledge the fraud in March, continuing the efforts to stop payments.

Five months after the initial protests, the Eagle has yet to receive a response to its filings.

This week, the Eagle received a routine form to complete and return to the unemployment office, inquiring whether that employee was still not on the job. The form offered no acknowledgement of the notice of fraud.

“It's so frustrating,” the employee said. “Who is looking at all this paperwork?”

Nationwide issue

In a Monday news release, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Acting Secretary of Labor & Industry Jennifer Berrier announced they recouped nearly $800 million of stolen unemployment benefits.

The majority of those funds were connected to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

“All across the nation, PUA was targeted by criminals intent on stealing benefits,” said Garrity in the release.

These types of scams often start with stolen personal information that is then used to fraudulently file for benefits.

The Eagle employee believes her Social Security number was stolen in a rare instance in which it was shared with a big-box store.

“I was stunned,” the employee said. “You feel violated, that someone has all your private information.”

Using the information, scammers filed the claims. In the early days of the program, scammers often used a variety of methods to intercept paper checks and redirect direct deposits.

In July, all PUA payments were transitioned to debit cards, like U.S. Bank's ReliaCard; however, these, too, are susceptible to redirection.

Local example

A pair of Detroit natives became firsthand examples of these redirection tactics in March.

Demario A. Cooper, 29, and Jasmyne J. Studdard, 29, were arrested March 24 in Cranberry Township for allegedly being part of one of these schemes.

According to charging documents, the pair was caught picking up an unemployment debit card, and inside their vehicle, police found a second card belonging to a different person.

Police said both cards were for people from Michigan, and the payments were redirected to a Cranberry Township address.

“Like many other states, Pennsylvania has needed to react quickly and aggressively to stop a surge in fraudulent activity tied to the PUA program,” Berrier said in the release.

According to the release, about $740 million of the amount recouped has come from people returning funds fraudulently distributed to them.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to the many honest people who returned PUA payments they never applied for,” Garrity said.

However there has been other telling data that show the extent the program has been defrauded.

Further perspective

In October, the Department of Labor & Industry partnered with ID.me to verify the identify of claimants applying for the program's benefits.

Of the 978,000 claims made after that partnership, only 155,000 people successfully verified their identity with ID.me.

“Based on these numbers, it is presumed that nearly 84% of those claims were fraudulent,” Berrier said. “ID.me has been an effective tool in ensuring that PUA benefits are not paid to fraudsters.”

According to the office of the U.S. Department of Labor's inspector general, it is estimated that more than $63 billion has been improperly paid through fraud or errors.

Sue Bowser, Butler's PA CareerLink administrator, said her agency received calls before and during the pandemic regarding unemployment fraud with no noticeable shift or increase.

“It's been pretty regular,” she said. “A couple (calls) a month. It's not like we have a spike or anything.”

Bowser said about 75% of the calls they receive are about how to file for unemployment compensations, rather than information about fraud.

There is little they can do about those fraud cases, she said. Step one is filing a report with police. After that, there are online resources available for people to halt the use of their personal information, but even that has its limits.

Bowser said in most cases, the best they can do is refer people to online resources or the fraud reporting hotline.

When calling the hotline, an automated message greets the caller, and the message recommends reporting the fraud online rather than leaving a message.

“This line does not take live calls,” the message said. “It may take us months to return your call.”

The path forward

The Eagle employee noted that she too had a frustrating experience trying to do all the right things.

She said one of her calls was to PA CareerLink, which at least offered a sympathetic ear.

“It was good to hear a human voice,” the employee said.

The employee said despite the Eagle's best efforts to stop the unemployment claims, the scammer has continued to receive payments. The Eagle confirmed the last three payments were made in March.

“It's not like someone stole your purse, and you can cancel your cards,” the employee said.

She said she too has filed a police report with her local department, placed locks on her Social Security number, and submitted paperwork to various credit reporting companies to acknowledge the identity theft.

The employee said there definitely is a hopeless feeling surrounding the ordeal, one that she knows is more out of her hands than within her control.

“I've done everything I can,” she said. “It could still be happening. You do what you can and keep moving forward.”