Ohio pua pending issues4/3/2023 $42 million: Total fraud overpayments in Ohio's traditional unemployment program from the beginning of the pandemic through the third quarter of this year. "While we are unable to share specifics related to ongoing law enforcement investigations and pending seizures, ODJFS will be providing more information on funds recovered as soon as details can be released," Betti said. As of mid-December, ODJFS received 337 requests for repayment from account takeovers and approved 180 - totaling $348,646 - and denied the rest.Īs for the money lost to actual fraud, ODJFS officials say they are working with state and federal law enforcement agencies and bank risk teams to identify and recover stolen funds and to prevent future fraud attempts. In addition to processing overpayment waivers, state officials say they are reimbursing people whose accounts were taken over by fraudsters who intercepted their payments. "Individuals who previously repaid overpayments will be reimbursed if the agency approves a waiver." "The waiver authority is broadly applied," Betti said. This latter standard is further, loosely defined by considering things such as whether the person can pay back the money without financial hardship or recovering the funds would be "unconscionable." The guidance says repayment can be waived if it wasn't the applicant's fault, and requiring repayment "would be contrary to equity and good conscience." Department of Labor guidance when deciding whether to approve waivers. "A new unemployment system, combined with new computer system to manage it, and historic levels of claims that brought new individuals unfamiliar with unemployment insurance, along with long delays is processing applications, all contributed to the overpayment issue," said ODJFS spokesman Tom Betti.īetti said the state follows U.S. ODJFS officials say there are various reasons the overpayments occurred, many attributable to the newness of the PUA program. WAIVERS DECIDED BASED ON 'EQUITY AND GOOD CONSCIENCE' She believes the state should have just issued a blanket waiver for everyone. "We didn't submit fraudulent documents, we submitted exactly what they asked for," she said. "We were getting kicked while we were down," she said. Matthews said she knows of several families that were living on $90 a week and still unable to work after the state started garnishing their unemployment payments to recoup overpayments. ![]() And now they are punishing the people who needed assistance, used their system correctly and did everything by their book," Metcalf said. She is now being told she was overpaid $10,000. "I called weekly for six months and was told time and time again, this was how the Cares Act worked and I just didn't understand it - but was assured the money was mine," said Monica Metcalf, who worked at a salon in Genoa that was shut down because of the pandemic. Numerous people said they tried to tell the state the payment amounts were wrong, but ODJFS wouldn't listen. Several people say they applied for waivers in the summer and had them approved in December. Many share similar stories, as well as fear and frustration. The PUA Unemployment Overpayment Info Group Matthews runs on Facebook has more than 2,500 members. Her waiver was finally approved in mid-December 2021 and she was paid back the money they withheld. Matthews said she filed an appeal in October 2020, and had to resubmit information in July. Then they resumed payments at $189 a week, but withheld $95 every week to recoup the overpayment. In October 2020, the state caught its mistake, Matthews received nothing for two months. "What we were told was that was what the computer calculated and what you are receiving," Matthews said. Matthews said that they called ODJFS and reported that the amounts seemed off. She shared the documents from her sister-in-law, whose tax form 1040 said her income was $18,350 the state input her income as $51,972. Based on this, they started sending her weekly checks in May 2020 for $480. Matthews shared with the Dayton Daily News the same 1099 tax info she provided to the state, which listed her income in 2019 as $10,706. The vast majority of the state overpayments - $4.2 billion - were in the PUA program, which ended in September. Since she is self-employed, she qualified for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program created by federal lawmakers to assist people like her who don't qualify for traditional unemployment. When those games, weddings and all other events were cancelled last year her income stopped. Matthews owns a food truck and catering business in Columbus that worked the tailgates at Ohio State University games. ![]() ODJFS officials say they are not actively pursuing collections on any overpayments until a final decision is made on whether to grant a waiver. "This is cruel and unusual punishment," Matthews said.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |