Unemployment Question...

My brother was laid off last year and received unemployment for approx 4 months. During the last 6 weeks of this time he found employment, but kept on collecting unemployment checks for the next 6 weeks (he says he was starpped for cash and did not know what else to do). He never had taxes taken out of his unemployment checks either.

Now I warned him that receiving unemployment while employed could get him in trouble. If he pays taxes on the unemployment checks to make up for the lack of withholding initially, how would any agency find out that he was briefly employed while receiving unemployment benefits? I know his SSN is on all the documents, but are those things actually cross-referenced with any regularity?

Within a week or three of beginning work, his employer notified the state that they had hired him. The employer provided his date of hire, date of birth, and SS# at minimum. It may take some time, but the state WILL know that he was fraudulently receiving UI benefits, and they WILL want them back.

Not only will they want it back BUT they can prosecute for fraud. I know it is difficult, but one should come clean with the unemployment office and hope for the best. A fraud conviction can jeopardize future unemployment claims too.

You both have made valid points - thank you.

In that my brother started work last July and continued to recieve payments through the end of September he thinks he is in the clear now. He thinsk if he was going to get caught, it would have hjappened within 90 days or definitely by the end of the year!

I keep telling him that it is only a matter of time and that he better payback what he was overpaid. He is concerned that if he does fess up and payback what he wrongfully claimed that he might loose his current job! How likely is that?

[Snipes5]

I doubt he'd lose his current job if he paid back unemployment that he should not have received. Unless he's working for the unemployment office.

However if he doesn't pay it back, he could lose his entitlement to future unemployment if he does lose his job at some point.

Snipes