Unemployment fraud continues in beach towns

Earlier this summer, Jimmy O’Conor received unemployment claims against a Dewey Beach business of his that he has never opened.

“They are filing claims against Woody’s To Go, which has never opened, never had one employee,” he said. 

Two people filed for unemployment with the Delaware Department of Labor claiming that they worked at the yet-to-open business from 2016-20.

“When I called unemployment, I told them my business has never opened, so I don’t know how you can’t look at a record or see that I’ve never filed a 941 or paid any taxes on this business, but you’re going to pay somebody or accept a claim from a business that has no record of any taxes,” he said.

O’Conor said the DOL employee he spoke with said they have to process the claim and go back for a year from their stated employment. “It was frustrating. They pushed it aside,” he said.

He has yet to hear back from DOL on whether the claims were denied.

In Rehoboth Beach, Carol Everhart, president and chief executive officer of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, said she knows of several businesses that have also had people make unemployment claims against them even though the claimants never worked there.

But more so, she said, she has fielded calls from people who were concerned about having received correspondence from the DOL approving their unemployment claims, even though they never filed for unemployment.

“They receive notice that their unemployment claim will be deposited into their account. But they never filed,” she said. 

Everhart said she was not sure whether money is being deposited into people’s accounts, or whether someone has created a fake bank account for the unemployment deposits.

“There are a number of fraudulent claims being put in someone’s name who never, ever filed for unemployment. You know something is wrong, so you call. I've not heard any results from that whether it was resolved or not. My belief is that it has not been resolved. There has been no notification.”

As of July 20, the DOL had identified 25,000 cases of unemployment insurance fraud, said Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, DOL spokesman.

“In light of this sharp increase in fraud attempts and a growing number of claimant inquiries about the status of their accounts, there has been confusion about the process DOL has adopted to verify personal information in order to release funds for payment,” he said.

As the department works to combat the greater instances of fraud, Bodipo-Memba said DOL has added more security protocols to thwart the increasing sophistication of criminals. “These new security measures are necessary to ensure that only legitimate, eligible claimants are paid their benefits,” he said.

If an employer or employee suspects fraudulent activity on their accounts, Bodipo-Memba said they should immediately file a police report with a local jurisdiction, notify the DOL at  BPC_Fraud_Unit@delaware.gov, and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at identitytheft.gov.

The process for employers to report fraud is as follows:

• An employer who receives a UC-119 and/or other indication that someone who never worked for them filed a UI claim, or receives a UC-119 and/or other indication that a current employee filed a UI claim should complete and return per directions on the form noting the fraud, preferably via email to: BPC_Fraud_Unit@delaware.gov  
• Complete the UC-119. Simply check the appropriate box and authenticate the document with their information 
•  If unknown, then checking the box that they never worked there is adequate 
• If a current or former employee, include an email address and/or phone number for the victim, to expedite the process. 

“Given the complex nature of the system, DOL is asking all affected parties – employers, workers and job seekers – to follow specific security protocols to help blunt future fraud attempts. By doing so, we will be able to expedite our efforts to address payment concerns expressed by eligible individuals,” Bodipo-Memba said.

DOL reminds people to never provide personal information by text, through social media or direct message; DOL does not text claimants for personal information, direct message for information, or use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp, he said.

Only go to DOL’s official website at labor.Delaware.gov for updated information, and only respond to emails with a delaware.gov domain/extension, he said. A fraudulent account would include one with a delaware.org or delaware.com extension.