Nigerian Fraudsters Bilk U.S. Unemployment Funds for Millions

[Valin]

PJ Media

Rick Moran

May 17, 2020

It sounds like a bad joke. The Secret Service is investigating a foreign attack on the U.S. unemployment system that has been deluged in recent months with tens of millions of Americans filing claims.

 

The New York Times is reporting that a Nigerian fraud ring is using the social security numbers and other stolen identity data to file false claims with states for workers that may not have even lost their jobs. The scheme has resulted in millions of dollars being siphoned away.

The illegal activity seems to be centered in Washington state but at least six other states may have been targeted as well.

New York Post:

Quote

The ring could end up stealing “hundreds of millions of dollars” from state unemployment departments that have been completely overwhelmed by Americans desperate for a financial lifeline after economies shut down.

Roy Dotson, a special agent at the Secret Service, told TheTimes that investigators were still trying to confirm who was behind the attacks and where exactly they are operating,

”We are actively running down every lead we are getting,” Dotson said.

The Nigerian fraudsters apparently use middlemen in the U.S. as “mules” to collect the cash.

(Snip)