DETROIT - Semaje Reffigee, a former employee of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA), was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment today arising from her participation in a $313,000 pandemic-related unemployment insurance fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Julia Dale, Director of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, and Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office.
Reffigee, 26, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud arising out of her participation in a wide-ranging fraud scheme designed to provide Reffigee and her co-conspirators with pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits to which they were not entitled.
United States Attorney Ison stated, “Corrupt public servants compromise the ability of the government to function effectively and undermine confidence in all public programs. Semaje Reffigee – an employee of the state – stole money from a program intended to help our most vulnerable citizens during an unprecedented national crisis. This prosecution reflects the seriousness with which my office takes corruption and fraud in the public sector, and we hope that today’s sentence deters other government employees from lining their pockets at the expense of the public.”
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