CHICAGO (WLS) The Illinois Department of Employment Security said it has caught or stopped nearly 1 million fraud cases since March 2020.
Now they re warning that if you receive a 1099-G form but didn t file for Illinois unemployment benefits, you may be a victim of fraud.
The 1099 G form is filled out when filing your taxes if you ve gotten money from a government agency like IDES. These forms are an indication of what income the department has had to report to the IRS, explained the Acting Director of IDES, Kristin Richards.
Richards said people could also get this form if they have been a victim of the unemployment scam, where a fraudster filed for benefits in your name. If you receive it and you didn t file for unemployment, you need to report the fraud.
CHICAGO (WLS) The Illinois attorney general s office is partnering with the FBI to create a task force on unemployment insurance benefits fraud.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Friday the Attorney General s Task Force on Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud would allow state and federal resources to be deployed on a large scale to combat unemployment insurance benefits fraud for the first time.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Raoul s office has received and investigated complaints related to unemployment insurance benefits fraud. The aim of the task force is to enhance collaboration among state and federal agencies investigating and prosecuting forms of unemployment benefits fraud, Raoul s office said.
I have never in my life filed for unemployment, Kramer said.
She said she received three more letters from IDES regarding unemployment benefits, and then another saying she owed the state $332 and if she didn t pay the state would deduct and withhold her state income tax refunds. This is crazy. I never applied for unemployment and never received benefits, she said. I ve never contacted any of these people, how can they be sending me this?
The ABC7 I-Team has been investigating fraud impacting the state s unemployment system over the last several months, and with every story shared more people come forward claiming to be victims of an unemployment scheme.