A former state unemployment examiner has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a $313,000 pandemic-related unemployment insurance fraud scheme, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
Semaje Reffigee, 26, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The Detroit resident started working as a contract unemployment insurance examiner with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency in October 2020, had electronic access to the database and used her credentials to access and approve specific claims submitted to the agency, investigators found.
Through June 2021, Reffigee "conspired with others to obtain benefits through the submission of false UI claims. Reffigee’s co-conspirators electronically submitted fraudulent claims to MUIA," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement. "Reffigee then abused her position ... to re-activate claims that had previously been flagged for fraud, and ... go outside her assigned workflow to approve fraudulent claims in the first instance."
Reffigee re-activated or approved more than 35 fraudulent claims valued at more than $300,000 and received kickback payments from her co-conspirators, according to the release.
“Corrupt public servants compromise the ability of the government to function effectively and undermine confidence in all public programs," U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said Tuesday. "Semaje Reffigee – an employee of the state – stole money from a program intended to help...
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