Remember that U.I. is not income based. It is more "availability based," and somewhat contingent on whether you are working for a (taxpaying) covered employer. Barter isn't real income for unemployment purposes because there are no true income measures that determine eligibility. Many people barter their work for food or a place to live, while working at other jobs. If they are separated from their covered employment, this work isn't considered in determining eligibility unless the person starts trying to restrict their days hours or general availability due to such work.
Every so often the powers that be will try to generate ill will toward the unemployment program by saying there has been a "lottery winner" who continued to draw unemployment benefits. In other words, the proverbial welfare queen spending the taxpayers money. However, this situation is totally possible, since unemployment is not income based, and as long as the fabulously wealthy trust funder or lottery winner does not "remove himself from the labor force," in other words is able to make the weekly certifications and is willing to do the required job seeking activities, they can be fully and legitimately eligible. At no point during the certification process is one required to provide income data or answer questions about other possible income unless it deals with this separation such as pensions.
But a person who is working and having their income deferred until some later date, at which time they are going to be paid it in some size shape or fashion is committing unemployment fraud. And in normal times, they'd be picked up on a later examination of their income tax records, cross matched with the unemployment system's tax records. There used to be a few clever ways to escape being caught quickly, which I will not mention, but the fraud units have worked diligently to get hold of them with additional back up checks. And then there is the ubiquitous possibility of being turned in by someone, whether guilty or not, accused of committing unemployment fraud, which will usually in normal times, create an investigation.
From the sound of this, our poster wants to figure a way to keep the benefits coming while doing other things. I'm happy to provide parameters. Up to them whether or not they run legal.