An audit was released stating Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency may have paid $1.5 billion in fraudulent claims and that the former director.
November 30, 2020
UIA May Have Paid $1.5 Billion in Fraudulent Claims and Whitmer Wants Legislature To Approve $100 Million In New Funds
The Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, an audit was released stating Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency may have paid $1.5 billion in fraudulent claims and that the former director, appointed by Governor Whitmer, said that fraud detection was not a high priority.
Fox 17 outlined the potential fraud payments as well as other problems in the UIA including not performing background checks on contract employees which led to kickbacks and fraudulent claims. In July, a contract employee was charged after allegedly taking part in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic by U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.
Watch the story from Fox 17:
The day after Thanksgiving, Whitmer announced she was seeking a $100 million state economic stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The request comes just days after announcing the potential $1.5 billion in fraudulent payments and in the middle of Whitmer’s latest economic shutdown, this time referred to as a “three-week pause” currently set to expire on Dec. 8, but many workers and small business owners watch to see if it will be extended.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson recently told Bridge Michigan, “At the end of the three-week pause, we will evaluate the impact the actions we have taken have had and determine next steps. These factors can combine in different ways, and there’s no exact formula for the analysis.”