Unemployment Compensation Fraud

Did you get a letter from the Agency for Workforce Innovation saying you committed fraud?

As they notified you in the letter, it is a third-degree felony (punishable by up to 5 years in prison, by the way) to make a "false statement or representation, knowing it to be false, or knowingly fail to disclose a material fact to obtain or increase any benefits..." per Florida Statute 443.071.



If you are like some of my callers, you got a part-time job and barely make $100 per week so you phone in or report on-line that you have no job and made zero money. Besides, how will they find out? Even if they do, you think that it is so little money that they will not bother to come to you to collect.

Or, you may wonder: if they knew you were employed why did they continue to pay you for two months after you got the part-time job?

Here's the general procedure: Not only do employers have to report new hires to the Florida Department of Revenue, they also have to report your earnings on a quarterly basis. That information is constantly shared electronically with the Agency for Workforce Innovation. Just because the Agency knows you are working, it will not know how much you are making until the employer files its employee quarterly earnings. Remember that your compensation benefits will not be affected if you earn $58 or less per week (that's in gross pay). Thus, they will continue to pay you according to the information you report until the end of the quarter, when they receive conflicting information from the Department of Revenue.

If the employer's report of your earnings to the Department of Revenue is greater what you reported to the Agency, then the Agency suspects fraud. Understand that regardless of whether the Agency made a mistake in overpaying you, or you misreported, you still have to pay back the overpayment you received.

So how do you keep the Agency from forwarding your file to the State Attorney's office for criminal prosecution? You can't prevent the State from prosecuting you. However, you can do one of two things that may help discourage the Agency from reporting you. You can pay the amount they overpaid you in full. Or, if you can't afford it, pay in monthly installments. The Agency prefers you pay at least 10% of the balance due each month. If you cannot afford that, pay as much as you can, but PAY SOMETHING EVERY MONTH. It it not a guarantee you will avoid criminal prosecution, but the Agency is run by actual human beings who understand that if you are arrested, sit in jail and lose your job, you will not be able to make payments.

If you pay in full, can they still prosecute you? Yes. Whether you repay or not, they still deem that a crime of fraud has taken place. However, if you do not pay, don't think they will ignore you. Your odds of seeing the inside of a jail cell will significantly increase.

What happens to you if you are prosecuted? (Click here and read on!)