Hard fraudState · WashingtonConfirmed

$550–650 million: Unemployment money stolen in weeks

Impostors used stolen identities to drain as much as $650 million from Washington's unemployment fund in the spring of 2020.

FraudBadPublic receipt
Washington

Stolen through impostor claims$550M–$650M¹
Recovered by June 4, 2020$333M¹
MethodIdentities from old data breaches¹
Never recovered████████████████

fraudbad.comNo taxation without receipts

What happened

In June 2020, Washington's Employment Security commissioner said fraudsters had taken $550 million to $650 million using identities stolen in earlier data breaches. A security firm tied it to a West African fraud ring.

Why nobody caught it

It hit in the first weeks of the pandemic, while the state was paying claims as fast as it could.

How sure are we?

Confirmed

Proven in court, admitted in a guilty plea, or confirmed by the agency that paid it.

Confirmed by the agency. About $333 million had been recovered at the time.

Sources

Washington unemployment fraud might be up to $650 millionThe Daily Herald (Everett) · Jun 4, 2020

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