AUGUSTA — Maine has been awarded $1,215,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor to continue to combat identity theft unemployment insurance fraud through identity verification, according to a news release.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a total of $49 million in grants to 28 states and territories. The grants are divided between Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) funding – Maine was granted $1,020,600 in PUA funding and $194,400 in PEUC funding. The grant amounts are based on the size of covered employment in each state’s unemployment insurance program.
“Unemployment insurance integrity is a top U.S. Department of Labor priority, and we are partnering with states as they innovate and apply new solutions to combat criminal attacks on their unemployment insurance programs,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Suzi LeVine said in US DOL’s release. “Criminals adapt their fraud techniques routinely, so we must be vigilant and determined to prevent those eager to deprive unemployed Americans of money they desperately need in these difficult times.”