New York Has Rejected $1 Billion In Fraudulent Unemployment Claims Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic

Everybody knew that once the government trough was replete with newly-printed Fed money that it was only a matter of time until the pigs would line up.

Such appears to be in the case in New York. According to Bloomberg, The New York State Department of Labor has now rejected more than $1 billion in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims dating back to the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. 

The agency has paid out an estimated $40 billion in benefits, the report says. And we’d be willing to bet that more than a couple of those aren’t exactly legitimate, either.

More than 42,200 fraudulent claims for unemployment have been identified since mid-March, leading to New York to refer more “more unemployment fraud cases to federal prosecutors than it has in the last 10 years combined”.

State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said: “Unfortunately, we have to fight unemployment fraud every day—not just during pandemics—but attempting to defraud the government during a global public health emergency when millions are filing legitimate claims for benefits is particularly shameful.”

More than 3.4 million claims have been filed in NY since the start of the pandemic and there were 52,642 claims filed just last week, Bloomberg notes.

You can color us not surprised. Such is the case when the government attempts to “help” its people by creating more newly printed fiat than it can possible watch over and regulate. In addition to increasing the stresses of inflation on the lower class, the government enables those with means to fraudulently obtain funds they don’t need, further skewing an already uneven playing field. 

And people wonder why libertarians want less government and claim that politicians aren’t good capital allocators…