A new wave of unemployment compensation fraud has hit Butler County.

“There have been an uptick in calls,” said Trooper Josh Black of state police Troop D in Butler.

Black said the majority of these calls have been about people receiving letters regarding their unemployment application, one they never submitted in the first place.

One company executive is perplexed and frustrated by new state unemployment compensation procedures.

Patti-Ann Kanterman, chief financial officer of Associated Ceramics Technologies in Sarver, said the process is difficult, confusing and at times should be unnecessary.

Kanterman said 12 of the 40 employees at the company have received notices of unemployment compensation applications in their name, despite continuing to work full time.

“I think the state's system is screwed up,” Kanterman said. “It just seems so coincidental that this all happens right after they went live with their new system.”

An individual who receives a letter about the fraudulent unemployment application should take immediate action.

“They should contact the unemployment office and cancel it,” Black said.

The Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment has an online reporting system related to fraud. The process involves three steps.

“If you do not have internet access, you can call the toll-free PA Fraud Hotline at 1-800-692-7469 to leave a voice message,” the website said. “A representative will return your call and assist you in completing the online fraud form.”

Once the form is opened, the filer of the report should select “identity theft” as the type of fraud they would like to report, as the person who filed for unemployment in that person's name, likely used their personal information to do so.

On June 8, Pennsylvania started using an online filing system for unemployment claims. On June 16, the Department of Labor and Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier boasted that 400,000 residents had used the new system.

Kanterman said it's reasonable to expect a certain level of basic protection from the state's application system. She said it should be able to remove obvious fraudulent applications that have significant errors.

“I got the first one on June 26,” Kanterman said. “Ironically, it was for my brother, who is the president of the company.”

Kanterman said her brother's name was also misspelled on the application, which seemed like an obvious giveaway. She said some of the claims have also had the wrong job titles.

One of the claims received was for an employee whose job title listed on the application was as a doctor. She said that doesn't make sense for a manufacturer with 40 employees.

“You would never put in a claim with the wrong first name,” she said. “They're not throwing out things that are obviously fraud.”

In a news release Wednesday, state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said she has heard many stories of fraud in recent weeks.

“This is a very frustrating situation,” she said. “I have heard from people who are not receiving their benefits due to a fraudulent claim filed on their account and from many people who have received checks for claims they never filed.”

Mustello said residents have also been reporting scams that may be contributing to the recent use of stolen identities. She said some have reported getting calls about winning contests or cash prizes. She said another scam offers a faster alternative or mobile app for applying for unemployment benefits.

Mustello said all of it is used to scam people out of their personal information, which can then be used to commit these types of fraud.

“In many situations, the victims are unaware that their personal information has been compromised,” she said.

According to Black, since almost all the reports they've received thus far have been about a notice of application and not the receiving of any funds, most are being filed as general reports, not as reports of a crime.

Black said once money is inappropriately distributed, then a victim is established based on the money lost, and then the report is elevated to that of a crime.

Black said even though no criminal reports have been filed in the latest wave of fraud, the state police are encouraging people to continue reaching out when they receive application notices.

“Right now, it's kind of sporadic and all over,” Black said. “It's still good for people to call in, so we can see if there are any trends.”