Fraudsters illegally stole about $45.6 billion in unemployment benefits in the United States during the pandemic. According to a Federal Labor Commission in the United States, to write The Washington Post and international news agencies. The amount is significantly higher than the $16 billion found by authorities last year.

The benefits program was set up under the Donald Trump administration with the aim of helping about 57 million families in the early months of the pandemic. Apart from payments continuing to increase, more people like flex workers also became eligible for benefits. Unemployment benefits totaled nearly $900 billion during the pandemic, as the number of unemployed in the United States also increased.

Fraudsters

Not all beneficiaries are entitled to it. In hundreds of thousands of cases, deceased people’s Social Security numbers were used to apply for benefits. Other fraudsters allegedly made applications in multiple states or used inmate identities while this group was not eligible for benefits.

U.S. According to the Labor Department, federal unemployment offices were hit by high unemployment during the pandemic, poor management, underpaid staff and outdated computers to process applications. Authorities expect the billions to rise in the coming weeks as investigations into the fraud progress. Thousands of Americans have fallen victim to insurance fraud during the pandemic.

Also read this article: Only ‘bad’ fraudsters with Corona support should fear prosecution