UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD: Incriminating Question

[Charllesincharg]

Nevada


Hello,
Need some advice in how to proceed with a situation my boyfriend, John, is in. John had quit his job due to circumstances that put him in situation that had to be investigated by his employer. He was put on suspension until further notice. John left his statement with the HR department and willingly excepted his actions. He asked the HR Representative how long the suspension was going to last, her response "due to the severity of your actions there might be permanent action". So he quit; only because he thought he was going to get fired for doing something that he did not know was wrong.

Two weeks later John applies for unemployment he brushes through the process and (from what he said) he accidentally put that He was fired from his job due to lack of work. His claims get processed and he gets approved for his first week. The next week he applies but this time the funds are withheld. We log in to the unemployment website to see what the hold up was. When we log in there is an important question pop up that has to be answered before the benefits is put in the account.

"Did your job tell you that you we're fired for misuse of company funds or property" "yes or no"

We have no idea how to answer this question. He didn't get fired; after putting in his resignation letter there wasn't any communication from the employer (we figure it was because Nevada is an at-will state). The bigger issue though is that he did not put the proper reason for his unemployment. If he says yes; what would be the ramifications? if we say no would there be a further investigation?

We realized that he's completely in the wrong and he feels like crap because of it. The goal is to avoid prison. In Nevada you can only speak to Representatives on MONDAYS and Tuesdays over the phone and slots fill up fast. We wanted to explain the situation to the office , should i avoid answering the question till john can speak with someone.

should we get legal help?
any advice that can help us?

 

[FlyingRon]

YOU have no bone in this hunt. John needs to live up to some personal responsibility. If he feels a question may be incrimination, he needs to seek out a lawyer not his enabling girlfriend.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Sooo.... Was your boyfriend suspended indefinitely without pay (before quitting) because of "misuse of company funds or property"?

 

[Charllesincharg]

Sooo.... Was your boyfriend suspended indefinitely without pay (before quitting) because of "misuse of company funds or property"?

sooo... in retrospect yes; but unknowingly. I was told i was suspended without PAY after I left my statement; saying that They needed to investigate further.


I gave rewards points that were unclaimed by clients to clients that did business with us more frequently in hopes to increase sale volume. (reward points turn into cash)

 

[eerelations]

sooo... in retrospect yes; but unknowingly. I was told i was suspended without PAY after I left my statement; saying that They needed to investigate further.


I gave rewards points that were unclaimed by clients to clients that did business with us more frequently in hopes to increase sale volume. (reward points turn into cash)

So it's you that did this, not your BF after all?

 

[commentator]

We realized that he's completely in the wrong and he feels like crap because of it. The goal is to avoid prison. In Nevada you can only speak to Representatives on MONDAYS and Tuesdays over the phone and slots fill up fast. We wanted to explain the situation to the office , should i avoid answering the question till john can speak with someone.

should we get legal help?
any advice that can help us?

Whichever one of you that "did this" is a dumb ass, and dishonest to boot. And you know that you did not "accidentally" put that you were laid off, or whatever you put. But you are NOT or he is NOT going to prison. Good gosh almighty do you have any idea how many thousands of people file for unemployment and lie like dogs about the reason they are not working?????The jails would be filled beyond capacity in a week or two.

How to save yourself/him from committing further unemployment fraud? STOP filing for weeks of benefits as the weeks pass. You should not receive any more benefits if you do not certify for them. No benefits = no further fraud. If you have already received a check, I wouldn't use it up if I were you two. I'd be fully ready to pay it back, because you very probably will be paying it back, WITH PENALTIES. That's what happens to people who provide false information to obtain unemployment benefits. They have to pay back any money they have received, with penalties. But this process takes place only after a lengthy investigative process, and a decision that there was actually a fraud overpayment involved. The very best thing for your boyfriend, or you or whomever is trying to file this claim to do (he can, if you are the brains of this couple and he so wishes, verify that you will be speaking for him, but otherwise he is going to have to answer the questions about what happened himself.)

Even with a lack of work statement on your unemployment claim form, the employer will probably be checked with. They verify that the lay off was due to lack of work in most cases. In ALL cases, that your boyfriend or you, which ever of you it was who filed the claim, the employer will receive notice that a claim has been filed. Each claim costs them money. That this is an "at will" state does NOT mean that you can draw unemployment at will, it means that your employer can fire you at will. In order to keep you from drawing unemployment insurance, which costs the company money, they must show that if they fired you, it was for a valid, misconduct reason, that you did this thing, knowing you might be fired, and chose to do it anyway. There are also things that are considered gross misconduct, which are so obviously wrong and dishonest that you or any reasonable person should have known that doing it even once, even without having received any prior warnings, would be wrong to do.

If you (or your boyfriend) had checked the right box, or told the truth, or whatever, they would've instructed you to answer the questions, and then begin making weekly certifications for weeks of claims as they pass, and you'd receive no money until a decision was made as to whether your employer had a valid reason to terminate you. They'd send for information from the employer, they'd probably recontact you/boyfriend and request further information after they'd talked to the employer, and then they'd issue a decision about the reason why you were terminated, and whether or not your claim was approved. Then and only then would you receive ANY money from the unemployment system.

In some cases, if you put "lack of work" it can cause your claim to breeze through and you would begin to receive benefits after about two weeks had passed, if you were making the weekly certifications after the week had passed as you are instructed when you file the claim. If this is what has happened, as I said, don't expect this to last, and don't expect to get to keep this check.

And STOP making weekly certifications until this situation is resolved. (This advice, is of course, for whichever of you is actually filing the claim under your social security number. I don't really care which of you it is, that person needs to speak to the unemployment system and tell them that they have made a mistake on their claim. Instead of worrying about how to answer the question, just let him speak with someone before you do any more certifications. It is likely that the reason this question has appeared is because they HAVE spoken with his employer already. Until this is resolved, no further money will be forthcoming. He needs to get to someone and get things a little bit clearer before he begins making weekly certifications for benefits again. In all likelihood his claim is stopped right now anyhow.

But need a lawyer, no, absolutely not at this point. This is an agency. NO FRAUD has been determined at this point in the situation. He may be able to claim stupidity, they may gag and swallow his silly "accidentally" lied about the reason for separation. The system sees this sort of mess all the time. Unless the boyfriend is really handicapped, if he is the one we are talking about, he needs to do his own talking. If you are the one whose social security number is being used and who actually worked here and did what they were suspended for, you are the one who needs to talk to the agency.

As to only being able to speak to someone at this time or that time, he (or you) needs to get through the system by holding the phone as long as you need to, all day if necessary, or be creative about getting in some other way. There are several other numbers he should be able to call, and he is not trying to use the automated system. The benefit payment control or the fraud unit hotline of the department of labor should be able to direct his call to someone who can actually assist him.

The agency will talk to the employer. They will talk to you. They will take statements about exactly why you were terminated. You will be asked questions about what you did or did not do. Then they will issue a determination as to whether or not your claim is approved, and your claim for unemployment will either be approved or denied. If you have received any money, you will be or will not be given an overpayment decision, and will have to pay back any unemployment you have received that you are not entitled to, with or without sanctions and penalties. Do not try to be smart or crafty. Be honest. They can see exactly what you/he have done, what you told the system "accidentally" when you worked and what your employer says is the reason WHY you left the job. They will sort it out.

 

[commentator]

I meant to say, "if the claimant is out of work due to lack of work, the employer will be asked to verify that." If the former employee quit, or was terminated, or quit to avoid termination, the employer will doubtless share that information with the agency. As I said, it costs them money for a person to draw unemployment from their account, and they are not happy about ever having to do it, much less when they have terminated someone for what they believe is good cause.

Lying about the reason you are not working any longer is as I said, about as common as scratching, but your chances of having this slip through for long are very low, because the employer is going to raise cain about it as soon as they receive the inevitable inquiries and reports about your receiving benefits. They have the legal right to protest any unemployment paid from their tax account to one of their former employees, and they will certainly protest.

So the sooner you speak with someone, and get this claim and decision and possible overpayment off on the right foot, the better. DO NOT put off calling or trying to reach someone until next Monday or Tuesday. Get on the phone, do some research, find someone to talk to. AND DO NOT FILE ANYTHING ELSE until you have done so.