An Illinois congressman is calling for the adoption of legislation that would allow for more time to pursue COVID-19 pandemic-era unemployment insurance fraudsters.
The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act would provide a five-year extension on the statute of limitations for criminally prosecuting those who stole unemployment benefits.
During a recent Ways and Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee hearing, Work and Welfare Chairman Darin LaHood, R-Ill., shared details of the recent conviction in Pennsylvania of a man who stole $59 million in public benefits, including unemployment, and funneled the funds to his co-conspirators in China.
“This is a must pass bill,” said LaHood. “Federal law enforcement agencies are in the middle of litigating hundreds of cases with hundreds more yet to be litigated.”
According to the Department of Justice, there are still 157,000 open UI fraud complaints and 1,648 open investigations. The current statute of limitations is scheduled to expire on March 27, 2025, without Congressional action.
An estimated $100 billion to $135 billion of UI benefits from the pandemic were lost in the greatest theft of taxpayer dollars in American history. Of that, only $5 billion has been recovered.
LaHood said the same people who stole pandemic unemployment benefits are still at work.
“The same groups doing the same thing are happening now,” said LaHood. “This time, criminals are stealing disaster benefits owed to the Los Angeles fire and North Carolina hurricane victims.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, over 1,400 people have been convicted of unemployment insurance fraud since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measure passed out of committee and is headed to the U.S. House floor. Similar legislation which extended the statute of limitations for PPP fraud was passed by Congress.
