$8.5 billion: Fraudulent jobless claims Michigan likely paid
A consulting firm hired by the state estimated Michigan paid about $8.5 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits in 19 months.
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Michigan
Michigan
- Fraudulent benefits, 19 months (Deloitte estimate)≈$8.5B1
- Paid to impostors$2.7B–$2.8B1
- Paid to claimants who misrepresented eligibility$5.6B–$5.7B1
- Improper payments found by the state auditor$3.9B (may overlap)1
- Recovered████████████████
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What happened
Deloitte, which Michigan hired to investigate, estimated about $8.5 billion in fraudulent jobless benefits went out during 19 months of the pandemic: $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion to impostors and $5.6 billion to $5.7 billion to people who misrepresented their eligibility.
Why nobody caught it
- A separate state audit found $3.9 billion in payments to people later found ineligible.
How sure are we?
Estimated
An auditor, inspector general or the agency itself estimated the fraud. It's a measured range, not a list of names.
An outside estimate commissioned by the state. Part of it may overlap with the auditor's figure.
Sources
- Report says Michigan paid $8.5B in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claimsCBS Detroit · Dec 29, 2021
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