Pa. jobless benefit scams at $2.5M; Arnold woman pleads guilty to defrauding system
Feb. 17—While many jobless Pennsylvanians have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the covid pandemic, the state has paid out at least $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, state officials said Tuesday.
That might be just the tip of the iceberg, the officials said.
The $2.5 million was siphoned off by just 29 people arrested in August for their alleged involvement in six criminal rings, said officials from the state Attorney General's office and Department of Labor & Industry.
"We anticipate making several more arrests in the coming months," said Brian Zallaro, chief deputy attorney general.
Pennsylvania has yet to determine how many people have been unwitting victims of identity theft by those seeking to siphon benefits, Acting Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier said.
"We can't localize the numbers because of several investigations that are underway," Berrier said.
The state has been able to identify some fraudulent claims through its ID ME computer program, which identifies claimants. They are alerted of other fraudulent activity when someone reports receiving a tax form for benefits they never received or are mailed payments they never sought, Berrier said.
The federal government has lost an estimated $36 billion through fake unemployment claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for self-employed workers and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, according to the Labor Department's Inspector General. That figure could rise to as high as $63 billion.
Critics have said the PUA program is ripe for fraud because it permits people to self-attest that they qualify for the program.
A Westmoreland County woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Feb. 11 to defrauding the system of about $11,000 through a deal with a prison inmate.
Tracy Ann Stankiewicz, 49, of Arnold used the name of an inmate in Greene County to defraud the PUA program for five weeks last summer by applying for benefits under the guise of the inmate having lost a job as a result of the pandemic. She faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 11.
Zallaro warned that those who give their identifying information to someone who commits fraud to get jobless benefits also could be charged.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter .
