RICHMOND â The Virginia Employment Commission believes it paid out more than $40 million in unemployment funds to persons who submitted claims on behalf of prison inmates, according to federal authorities.
In a complaint filed against two former inmates involving $51,198 in unemployment claims, an agent wrote, This investigation involves an unemployment insurance fraud scheme wherein unemployment benefits in the millions of dollars were paid . to applicants who were actually inmates being housed at correctional facilities. The VEC unknowingly paid these unemployment benefits based upon false and fraudulent information provided by individuals who submitted the applications on behalf of these inmates. The VEC estimates it paid out over $40 million to individuals who submitted claims on the behalf of ineligible inmates, says the affidavit.
Thousands of incarcerated people in Virginia’s correctional institutions have tested positive for the coronavirus since March and more than 50 who died also tested positive for the disease.
Virginia s secretary of public safety and homeland security says the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in correctional centers is going smoothly, but some prisoners report harsh conditions and a chaotic rollout as coronavirus cases remain in the hundreds.