Washington recovers $300M in fraudulent unemployment claims

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington officials say the state has recovered $300 million paid to criminals who used stolen personal information to file fraudulent unemployment benefit claims.

Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said that she could not yet reveal the precise amount that was paid out in fraudulent claims. She said that the initial recovery was a result of the state’s collaboration with federal law enforcement and financial institutions.

LeVine first detailed the scope of the fraud last week, saying that the information of tens of thousands of people in the state was used to fraudulently receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits.