A former employee with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) allegedly filed more than $34,000 in fraudulent unemployment claims for herself and her husband and now faces felony charges for theft, perjury and official misconduct.
According to the investigative report filed by Indiana’s Office of Inspector General, program specialist Tina Trotter filed for and received unemployment insurance benefits while employed at the agency and also oversaw her husband’s fraudulent unemployment claims.
Though the claims for Trotter and her husband were not assigned to her, Trotter took over the cases and ensured the payments went through. In her position, Trotter assisted claimants applying for unemployment benefits but wasn’t responsible for granting or denying claims.
DWD hired Trotter on July 27, 2020, permitting her to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a complaint submitted on Sept. 16 2021, that detailed the allegations, DWD dismissed Trotter the following day for employee misconduct.
The country, Indiana included, saw an unprecedented spike in unemployment in 2020, following pandemic-related restrictions to close down businesses to limit the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 1 million Americans since early 2020.
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