Keystone Today

At a time when the state's unemployment benefits system is more necessary than ever, officials are fighting hard to prevent fraud that they say is widespread.

According to state labor and industry officials, the state of Pennsylvania is fighting back against the fraud while also working through a severe backlog that was built up due to the number of jobless claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Labor and Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier told state House members in a hearing, “While this caseload is still higher than normal times, it is much more manageable, and we are actually beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” according to 90.5 WESA.

Berrier was originally there to answer questions that House members had about fraudulent claims in the unemployment system, the rollout of a new benefits system and the progress of winding down the federal unemployment assistance that ended in the state last month. 

Since the launch of the new system in June, more than $3 billion has been paid out to claimants, according to 90.5 WESA. Some legitimate claimants have had their accounts switched so they never received their payout. Rep. Jim Cox (R-Sinking Spring), chair of the House Labor and Industry Committee, noted that lawmakers want to know what is being done to fight fraud, the status of a new benefits system and the end of federal unemployment programs.

According to ButlerRadio.com, a 24-year-old New Castle man recently had more time added to his sentence for receiving unemployment benefits, to the tune of $13,000. He is currently an inmate in the Lawrence County Jail for mail fraud and is awaiting trial.

Regarding fraud, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor told WGAL8, "Since the pandemic began last year, fraudsters have gotten and used individuals' personal identifying information, obtained from data breaches outside of state government, to file for unemployment and attempt to steal those benefits. Victims oftentimes are completely unaware their PII was compromised, sometimes a year before." The massive increase in claims during the pandemic resulted in difficulty determining which were fraudulent and which were real.