When NBC 5 Responds caught up with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul last July, he showed us the debit card that showed his name was used by con artists trying to tap into his unemployment benefits. This month, we asked Raoul how his case turned out.
“Well, you know for me, I didn’t know what was going on because it was early in the process," Raoul said. "So I was unaware, even as the Attorney General … of the scope of the fraud taking place."
“Unaware” as we all were. Now we know that nationally, Raoul’s name was one of thousands swept up in a massive case of unemployment benefits fraud. The US Department of Labor now estimates at least $63 billion was paid out improperly in claims. Much of that was fraud, according to an audit by the US Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General .