A facial scar, a partial license plate number, and a pizza restaurant uniform helped fraud investigators with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) bring down a multi-state criminal enterprise that defrauded taxpayers of more than $250,000 in unemployment benefits. The successful investigation was lauded recently by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG) with a national award, the agency’s fourth since 2019.
Three Florida men identified as the Broward County Bunch were sentenced to prison after Michigan UIA investigators partnered with Florida and federal authorities to put an end to the brazen theft of taxpayer money in one of the largest pre-pandemic cases in terms of dollars stolen and the number of victims.
“Our investigators do an outstanding job identifying criminals who steal from taxpayers, and they are respected by their peers around the country,” said UIA Director Julia Dale. “This award puts bad actors on notice: Crime doesn’t pay and we will work closely with all our law enforcement partners to ensure that justice is served. I want to thank the Office of Inspector General for recognizing UIA’s hard work and we look forward to continuing our cooperative efforts to track down criminals.”
The case was a complex investigation involving extensive evidence gathering and collaboration with outside law enforcement. UIA maintains valuable relationships with...
HealthNow New York Inc. failed to show that a whistleblower’s False Claims Act suit alleging healthcare fraud violates Article II of the US Constitution, a federal district judge said, but an appe...