Unemployment Overpayment in South Carolina

[Limozine]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina

First of all, I filed for unemployment last year for the first time in my life, and I'm in my fifties. I was unfamiliar with the process, and occasionally had self-employment income coming in while I was filing weekly claims. I occasionally worked a few odd jobs that I never got paid for (one client filed bankruptcy, for example, while another was a family member for whom I forgave the debt due to hardship). Others took two and three months to pay me. Because I wasn't certain when the money would come in, I reported all self-employment income when received, not when earned. I had less than $500 of W2 income that was mixed in with the self employment income and reported it for the wrong weeks. Now I'm being investigated for fraud. I've already paid back most of the overpayment but still owe the state a little over $100 pending the outcome of the investigation.

My real question is: does anyone with experience in SC have any idea of the likelihood of the state pursuing more criminal charges for such a small amount? Should I be worried?

 

[commentator]

I have worked with unemployment fraud, and I can reassure you that in every state, their maximum interest in this situation is in getting their overpayment back. They're not interested in pursuing criminal charges against most of the people they catch up for unemployment fraud, because they simply would not have time and courts to prosecute everyone who commits unemployment fraud. For some reason people who wouldn't dream of falsifying most things will misreport fully and freely on unemployment as if they were the first person who'd ever thought of doing it, or because they truly didn't understand how to deal with random self employment income and thought it was too much trouble to call and ask someone within the system before they'd made their own call on how to report things, or chosen not to report things at all.

Yes, it's fraud, and if they want to, they can recommend you to the DA in your area for criminal prosecution. But if you are working with them, and have some of this already taken care of, have demonstrated your cooperation and are in the process of repayment, it is HIGHLY unlikely they'll take it any further. Why? Well partly because they have many people who probably deserve punishment much more, people who have set up elaborate and comprehensive fraud efforts, and people who have completely refused to cooperate with the fraud and overpayment unit when they were contacted about the overpayment. They're much more likely to be the ones prosecuted and made an example of.

 

[Limozine]

I have worked with unemployment fraud, and I can reassure you that in every state, their maximum interest in this situation is in getting their overpayment back. They're not interested in pursuing criminal charges against most of the people they catch up for unemployment fraud, because they simply would not have time and courts to prosecute everyone who commits unemployment for some reason people who wouldn't dream of falsifying most things will misreport fully and freely on unemployment as if they were the first person who'd ever thought of doing it, or because they truly didn't understand how to deal with random self employment income and thought it was too much trouble to call and ask someone within the system before they'd made their own call on how to report things, or chosen not to report things at all.

Yes, it's fraud, and if they want to, they can recommend you to the DA in your area for criminal prosecution. But if you are working with them, and have some of this already taken care of, have demonstrated your cooperation and are in the process of repayment, it is HIGHLY unlikely they'll take it any further. Why? Well partly because they have many people who probably deserve punishment much more, people who have set up elaborate and comprehensive fraud efforts, and people who have completely refused to cooperate with the fraud and overpayment unit when they were contacted about the overpayment. They're much more likely to be the ones prosecuted and made an example of.

Thanks for the quick and thorough reply.

 

[Limozine]

Let me put a twist on it

I have worked with unemployment fraud, and I can reassure you that in every state, their maximum interest in this situation is in getting their overpayment back. They're not interested in pursuing criminal charges against most of the people they catch up for unemployment fraud, because they simply would not have time and courts to prosecute everyone who commits unemployment fraud. For some reason people who wouldn't dream of falsifying most things will misreport fully and freely on unemployment as if they were the first person who'd ever thought of doing it, or because they truly didn't understand how to deal with random self employment income and thought it was too much trouble to call and ask someone within the system before they'd made their own call on how to report things, or chosen not to report things at all.

Yes, it's fraud, and if they want to, they can recommend you to the DA in your area for criminal prosecution. But if you are working with them, and have some of this already taken care of, have demonstrated your cooperation and are in the process of repayment, it is HIGHLY unlikely they'll take it any further. Why? Well partly because they have many people who probably deserve punishment much more, people who have set up elaborate and comprehensive fraud efforts, and people who have completely refused to cooperate with the fraud and overpayment unit when they were contacted about the overpayment. They're much more likely to be the ones prosecuted and made an example of.

Again, thanks for the reply. Let me throw a twist into the situation: suppose that IF I had filled out everything correctly, the state would actually OWE me money. My reason for asking is that I did it wrong for convenience, not to cheat the state. Does that change anything at all? Does that make them less likely to try to make an example of me?

 

[commentator]

There's no curve here. They don't consider motive or intention. You either were or were not eligible for that week's benefits, based on whether you worked and whether you made (or would eventually make) during that week, more than your weekly unemployment benefit amount was.

That you did it for "convenience" and not in order to commit fraud does not change anything. There is one thing, and one thing only that they are interested in. That is how you completed your certification for weekly benefits during the actual weeks. The facts of when you worked, and about how much you were paid for that weeks' work, NOT when you were paid, are what determines your eligibility for unemployment for that particular week.

To misrepresent your amount of work done during a week, or to misstate the amount you made, and sign and submit the weekly certification is fraud.

So if you worked just a little bit all the weeks, and reported it only one week, for conveniece, or because, as is frequently the case, you had not yet been paid and were not sure exactly to the penny how much you had made from week to week, that does not really matter to them. You still signed off on a lie. Each week, they said, "Did you work......?" and without prior clearance from them to do so, you said "No"

If you were actually entitled to be paid for those weeks, they'll work that out in the overpayment decision. You just tell them exactly how you worked it, how you were paid, how much you were paid, and they've already got exactly what you reported and when you reported it to them. They are the only ones who can figure this out, your brilliant arguments about it or any excuses for why you did it wrong won't be very impressive, this is all they do, and they understand it quite well.

I doubt if you actually cheated yourself out of benefits, and for sure if you drew all the money in your claim, you really didn't. There is a certain amount of money in a year's claim. It is scheduled to be drawn out in weekly payments not to exceed xxx amount of money, until it is gone, which is usually about six months. But it does not have to be paid out in consecutive weeks. It can be paid at any time during that year, if you are unemployed and qualify for unemployment benefits.

In other words, if they determine you are not overpaid, that there was no fraud and no overpayment, you might still have money in your claim. However, you couldn't receive it now unless you are eligible for unemployment at this time. In other words, not working, and able, available and actively seeking other work. You'd have to re open your claim and make weekly certifications for it again. Once a week has gone by it's real tough to go back and claim benefits you "should" have received then. They usually won't let you back date a claim week to any time more than a couple of weeks in special circumstances.

If you worked part time, you might have been paid in partial weeks of benefits, or for only weeks when your earnings weren't in excess of your weekly benefit amount, but eventually, if you got all the money out of the claim, that's the end of it.

Because once you've drawn a claim, and you've drawn out all the money in the year's claim, which weeks during the year that you got them are going to be pretty much irrelevant. And once the money is gone, you can't begin a new claim until a year from the filing date has passed, no matter if you're eligible or not.

I reiterate. What's going to make them less likely to make an example of you is your level of cooperation with them now, your perfect frankness about what you did and how much you worked, and your willingness to pay them back IF they determine you owe them.