A new bill in Congress seeks to extend the time frame for prosecuting fraud related to unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation is known as the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act.
• The bill proposes a five-year extension on the statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions of individuals who fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits.
• Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood highlighted the need for this legislation during a committee hearing, referencing a recent case where a man stole $59 million in public benefits.
• There are currently 157,000 open complaints and 1,648 active investigations into unemployment fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
• Without Congressional action, the existing statute of limitations will expire on March 27, 2025.
• It is estimated that between $100 billion and $135 billion in unemployment benefits were lost due to fraud during the pandemic, with only $5 billion recovered so far.
• LaHood emphasized that the same individuals committing these frauds are now targeting disaster relief funds for victims of natural disasters in places like Los Angeles and North Carolina.
• Over 1,400 convictions for unemployment insurance fraud have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.
• The bill has already passed out of committee and is slated for a vote in the U. S. House of Representatives, similar to previous legislation that extended the statute of limitations for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud.
The proposed bill represents a significant legislative effort to combat unemployment insurance fraud that has emerged during the pandemic, allowing for more time to pursue legal action against those who have exploited the system.
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