DC Employees Unemployment Scam Leads to Layoffs

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration has fired 61 public employees for collecting unemployment benefits while working for the city, the Washington Post reports.

“The city’s Department of Employment Services [DOES], which oversees the jobless-compensation program, said in February that dozens of current and former city workers had received the fraudulent payments,” the Post report adds.

The scam, which was started in 2009, issued fraudulent checks ranging from a couple hundred to thousands of dollars per employee. All told, estimates put the total amount scammed at about $800,000. So far, Gray’s administration has taken action against 92 employees (including the aforementioned 61 employees who have been let go).

“We’re not going to tolerate this kind of activity in the government,” said Pedro Ribeiro, Gray’s spokesman. “The matter’s been turned over to the Office of the Attorney General, which will use civil litigation to recoup the money,” he said, adding that Attorney General Irv Nathan “is planning to use the full extent of his authority.”

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Read More @ Don’t Mind if I do: DC Employees Help Themselves to Unemployment Cash | TheBlaze.com.