3 Offices Working To Fight Unemployment Fraud In State

As the state continues to solve the fraudulent unemployment claims, three offices are working together to make the process much simpler for people experiencing this problem.

"People are; a) eligible for claims and not being paid in a timely fashion, and then there are people who are the subject of fraud who are very disturbed and jarred as I when I noticed someone has filed on my behave," said Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter.  

He experienced something many are facing, fraudulent unemployment claims.

People steal someone's name in hopes of reaping the benefits.

While this storm is showing up during a pandemic, the Oklahoma attorney general's office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission are hoping to make it easier for Oklahomans to file their claim.

"We decided to pull all of those resources, get one database, and have one entry point for all of the fraudulent activity," said OESC Interim Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt.

Individuals and employers can fill out their own form, and it goes straight to all three agencies at once.

Within 24 hours, the groups are working on getting a stop on the action.

"If you are an individual who has a fraudulent claim that we catch it before any money goes out to a fraudulent actor and from an employer’s standpoint; if you have someone file unemployment on your business that is not one of your employees, that process is stopped immediately as well," said Zumwalt.

As the agencies catalog the information and put a hold on the fraudulent claim once they receive the submission, they will get back to you as soon as they can.