Some required to pay unemployment benefits back Many New Yorkers received a benefit, but were ineligible Some required to pay unemployment benefits back. and last updated 2021-02-09 23:12:41-05 BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) â It took some people multiple hours and days on the phone. Some waited weeks, even months for a check from New York State Unemployment to arrive in the mail or direct deposit at the height of the pandemic last spring. According to the New York State Department of Labor, New York has paid out more than $65 billion in unemployment benefits to more than 4 million New Yorkers. Itâs now finding more than 425,000 fraudulent unemployment claims, and some people who received benefits werenât really eligible for the money.