Stolen info leading to jobless benefits fraud

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Impostors have used the stolen information of tens of thousands of people in Washington state to fraudulently receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits, the head of the state’s Employment Security Department said.

Commissioner Suzi LeVine said the state is working with federal law enforcement, financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the fraud and try to recover the money paid out during the huge spike in joblessness during the coronavirus crisis.

LeVine said she can’t release specific numbers or details of the ongoing investigation. But she said countermeasures taken by the state have “prevented hundreds of millions of additional dollars from going out to criminals and have prevented thousands of fraudulent claims from being filed.”

LeVine said that in addition to other measures the agency has already taken, it will continue to delay payments — a step first taken earlier this month — to all applicants in order to take extra steps to verify claims. Previously, applicants set up for direct deposit received their money within 24 to 48 hours. Now, they will need to wait an additional two days.

The New York Times and Seattle Times have previously reported that a U.S. Secret Service alert identified Washington state as the top target so far of a Nigerian fraud ring seeking to commit large-scale fraud against state unemployment insurance programs. LeVine said she couldn’t speak to the details of the investigation but said the agency received the alert through other sources.

More than 1.1 million people in Washington state have filed for unemployment benefits since businesses started closing in March due to COVID-19, but state officials believe some portion of an increase in claims seen in the past week are due to “impostor fraud” claims.

LeVine said previously there have been no data breaches at the agency, and that recent fraud attempts are cases where someone’s personal information has been previously stolen from other sources and is now being used to file for benefits.