One-Half of all U.S. Money Intended to Help the Unemployed During the Pandemic Was Stolen

[quote] Unemployment became where the big money was — and was also being run by bureaucrats who weren't as quick to crack down on criminals as private companies normally are.

That’s it in a nutshell how government vs private companies operate.

Street gangs?

Please….

OP, this surprises you because…?

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

This makes me skeptical that we actually need a "wealth tax" in America, which is what many in congress are calling for. Wouldn't it be easier to just stop writing checks to thieves?

R2 when your a Jet, you're a Jet for life!

R5 you mean the wealthy that aren't paying them in the first place and have thieved from our pockets for decades? Fraud during a chaotic time is not a reason to let the wealthy off the hook with paying their taxes. I'm over paying more in taxes, as someone disabled, than some of these scumbags do.

Idk that I believe it was as rampant as they're saying either. They suddenly stopped paying my partner around the time they said there was fraud being stopped -- we still haven't recieved the months of back funds. If they were that stingy with someone legit, with them being impossible to contact, a glitched out website, making it difficult to collect, for those that genuinely needed it, how the Hell did 70% go to frauds? Wouldn't that mean 70% of unemployed numbers are wrong too? There was a lot of hysteria over labor shortages due to UI payouts, but this would mean that labor was never there to begin with, since 70% is supposedly fake.

I just have trouble believing this when we only have to look around to see the job losses and many of those we know were on/ are still on UI. You needed a lot of info to get it too -- employer tax id, exact dates, personal info, etc., that's all verified or you don't get approval. That's how they calculate your payout, with access to your income history. I smell BS.

Correction 50% fraud. 70% was pertaining to the specific groups that allegedly got away with it. Still smell BS when they literally access an entire years worth of income to calculate your payout. If it was a set general payment, to anyone applying, I'd be more open to believe there was that kind of rampant fraud. I'm looking these CEOs up to see their political stances, because it seems like propaganda to smear government help, by making the government seem totally incompetent.

I was signed for unemployment benefits. Whatever entity that did it put down I worked in nursing. During the pandemic. I immediately thought it was some Dump fuckery. The benefits were to be mailed to me. I wasn’t too worried about benefits because I knew there would be none. I haven’t worked in decades. Definitely a scam. Who would benefit from it? Republicans? I called unemployment to report it. I cut up the debit card I was sent. ( weird to be sent a debit card when there aren’t any benefits.) The person I spoke to at unemployment said they were flooded with these calls.

Instincts were dead on! Blake Hall is an ex RNC member with a messed up history. Looking up this Haywood Talcove now...

R9 they always give the debit card whether or not it's approved, to avoid checks if you are approved. Using info from someone that hasn't worked in over a year is an easy catch too, since they have to look at actual income records. I'm not doubting there was attempted fuckery afoot, but 50% actually going through, giving out payments, sounds insane.

Seattle Times: A Nigerian man suspected in Washington state’s $650 million unemployment fraud was arrested Friday (May 19) at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport by federal agents as he allegedly attempted to leave the country.

Abidemi Rufai, of Lekki, Nigeria, appeared in federal court Saturday on charges that he used the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington state Employment Security Department during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Michigan residents were mailed 1099-g tax forms, which are sent to those who received state unemployment benefits. The problem? None of them filed for unemployment. The state says they are all victims of fraud.

Can't find much on Haywood, except a history of catching fraud in different sectors. Reading more, it seems very state dependent, rather than every state handing away half the money to fraudsters. Some states weren't prepared and paid out without looking into it -- like California giving 180 million to prisoners somehow, but they're are at least doing audits to catch problems. I'm just cautious about stories that could be hyperbolic and have unintended consequences (like Americans being against programs even more than they are). They really need to wait until they have solid figures before freaking everyone out. That's how you get shit like "why should the wealthy pay taxes? The government is the problem!"

How much money was stolen by businesses and corporate America, I wonder.

Whatever applied in my name for unemployment was giving the faux info that I worked in Florida. I don’t live in Florida.

I hope this means they're too busy to come after me. I claimed benefits for a couple weeks when I was working off the books.

R13 it's just mindboggling though that people are receiving the right documents (1099g, a debit card, etc), but how did the money go somewhere else then? If a bank account, how did no one catch the conflicts in info on it? Or one account being used multiple times? Where did these fraudsters get the employer info? The exact paycheck amounts and dates to put down? How wasn't that caught when calculating how much they should get a week?

If states were just approving it, without looking anything up, I'm speechless.

R17 I'm guessing you're in the clear 🤣

Most Republicans are A-OK with grift as long as Republicans are doing the grifting. I sometimes wonder what these GOP voters want their tax money to be used for (and yes, you do have to pay taxes). They don’t want anything going towards social programs or infrastructure. I guess they’re OK with it all going towards a bloated oversized military and providing tax breaks for billionaires. I guess if some Republican con artist is lining their pockets that’s all good too.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our congress protected us from these types of crime instead of wasting valuable time on earth fighting about abortion & gays?

R7 glad you are finally admitting that your type thinks the primary purpose of taxes is not to raise money to fund the government, but to punish people who have the nerve to be more successful than you.