September 19, 2017
Internet fraud is a significant threat everywhere. Concurrently, the proliferation of intricate fraud schemes against state unemployment agencies by organized crime is also on the rise. Nationwide, since 2012, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL/OIG), Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations reports conducting over 750 major unemployment compensation (UC) investigations that resulted in “1,200 criminal convictions that created over $67.5 million in improper UC payments”.
Historically, there has always been a certain amount of individual fraud related to UC payments but advances in technology have made it easier for multi-claimant scams to financially impact state agencies. The proliferation of organized crime efforts takes advantage of specific state vulnerabilities using stolen personal claimant identification and the anonymity of the Internet. For example,
[list type=”circle”]
[item]Southern California Man Found Guilty in $5 Million Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme[/item]
[item]Former Illinois Tax Preparer Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Obtaining More Than $315,000 Through Identity Theft/UI Fraud[/item]
[item]Florida Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Identity Theft Scam to Obtain More Than $585,000 from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the IRS[/item]
[/list]
State administrators throughout the country are partnering now, more often, with local law enforcement, FBI and DOL/OIG for the purpose of investigating criminal fraud in their UC programs. Should you know of or suspect wrongdoing as it relates to UC benefit payments, please contact your unemployment claims administrator.
Ready to chat? Get in touch today to request a no-obligation savings evaluation.
We’ve been a member of First Nonprofit’s Unemployment Savings Program since 2011 and highly recommend joining. The program is terrific and allows us to earn interest on our own funds while still meeting the state’s requirements on unemployment payments. In addition, the staff are great and always helpful sorting out any questions we may have. Thank you all!
CCSCT was approached by First NonProfit to discuss its Unemployment Savings Program and ways the program could significantly reduce the amount of unemployment taxes we were paying. At the time, our agency was paying approximately $80,000 per year. First NonProfit conducted an analysis to determine if making the switch would be in our best interest, and it clearly was based on our circumstances. The first year on the program, CCSCT saw a 70% reduction in its unemployment costs and each year, continues to experience further reductions as a result of having minimal claims. Some additional benefits of the program including having a fixed annual cost, an interest-baring reserve account, professional unemployment claims management and representation at all unemployment hearings. This has been one of the best decisions we have made.
We first started using First Nonprofit’s Unemployment Savings Program when we were a small startup nonprofit. We didn’t have an HR department and needed expertise in the event that an unemployment claim was made. We knew we were eligible to be a reimbursing employer, but weren’t sure how to navigate that process. They made it easy to set things up, plan for, and then manage claims when they came at a very reasonable cost. The amount of time and stress they’ve saved us dealing with all this has been worth way more than the cost. We’ve now grown to a large nonprofit and do have an HR department but have no plans to stop using their services. I highly recommend them to every nonprofit I come into contact with!
Throughout our membership in the Unemployment Savings Program, First Nonprofit understood our demands, community dynamics, and the importance of seamless services; that allowed us to serve our constituents better.
Because INCS advocates for the operating conditions that allow charter public schools to provide high quality public education, partnering with First Nonprofit was an easy decision. First Nonprofit’s unemployment programs provide our member schools two operating elements crucial to their ability to provide high quality public education: savings and budget certainty. Capable, committed teachers are the key to student success. By participating in the unemployment insurance savings plan, charter public schools gain peace of mind and are able to invest more money in their teachers.
It has been our sincere pleasure to maintain a strong, vibrant business partnership with First Nonprofit. We greatly admire their strong industry knowledge, technical expertise, constant professionalism, knowledgeable and dedicated staff. They are always extremely responsive, personable and provide us with the necessary guidance and recommendations on a numerous variety of employment scenarios.
NYCON members who use First Nonprofit’s programs enjoy enduring savings and improved efficiency. Our association knows that success, because from the beginning, we achieved the same great benefits. Great savings, seamless technology, and responsive service. NYCON highly recommends First Nonprofit’s remarkable unemployment solutions.
Visually Impaired Preschool Services has been a client of First Non-Profit since it was first offered as a benefit of VisionServe Alliance. We completed a thorough evaluation of cash savings to our agency before taking advantage of this wonderful benefit and it has been a very wise decision. Our experience with the processes from accounting to claims have been professional, expeditious and easy.