Seventeen people have been arrested in the Baton Rouge area over the past month as the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Attorney General’s Office continue their crackdown on unemployment insurance fraud.

This brings the total number arrested since April to 46.

The total amount alleged to have been defrauded from the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund by those arrested since the effort began in April stands at $413,129 according to the LWC. Additional arrests are pending.

The most recent arrests, along with the total amount of fraudulent unemployment benefits received:

- Annette M. Bougere, 503 E. McArthur St., Gonzales, $9,608

- David G. Burton, 7948 Kingsley Drive, Denham Springs, $7,072

- Zelda H. Carter, 13750 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge, $9,359

- Latesh A. Collar, 120 East St., Denham Springs, $8,225

- Sherrie I. Ellison, 1801 Stanocola Drive, Baton Rouge, $9,398

- Dwayne G. Gaint, 242 Edison St., Baton Rouge, $7,998

- Irvin C. George, 13022 Wedgewood Drive, Baker, $12,238

- Michael Green, 5697 D’Juanna Drive, Baton Rouge, $7,058

- Jeffery Johnson, 11861 E. Fairoak Ave., Baton Rouge, $6,180

- Korey K. Kelly, 1013 Timberside Drive, Baton Rouge, $9,056

- Chantel L. Mason, 431 N. Montz Ave., Gramercy, $8,998

- Eric T. McZeal, 6630 Siegen Lane, Baton Rouge, $7,035

- Kenneth D. Ross, 209 W. Bordelon St., Gonzales, $9,817

- Todd J. Silessi, 26171 Shadow Brook Ave., Denham Springs, $8,034

- Nasha N. Thomas, 8625 Betty Smothers Ave., Baton Rouge, $6,027

- Cedric P. Williams, 2621 S. Cushenberry Ave., Gonzales, $9,089

- Michelle D. Winborne, 16441 S. Harrell’s Ferry Road, Apt. #4403, Baton Rouge, $6,198

The primary method of fraud occurs when people claim unemployment benefits while working but not reporting their earnings. Those arrested have been booked with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison with or without hard labor and a maximum fine of $3,000, and insurance fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison with or without hard labor and/or a maximum fine $5,000. In both cases, restitution will have to be paid.

“I hope this round of arrests drives home the message that we will not tolerate fraud,” said Curt Eysink, LWC Executive Director. “We are using every tool at our disposal to detect fraud, and our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office is bringing the crooks to justice.”

The crackdown began in the greater New Orleans area but is a statewide initiative.

The LWC also announced that the first plea deal related to the initiative took place yesterday with the suspect receiving a six month suspended sentence, two years of probation and an order to make restitution in the amount of $9,412.

“Now is the time for criminals to stop trying to cheat the system. Unemployment insurance fraud ultimately affects all citizens. The Attorney General’s Office will continue to vigorously pursue the folks who believe they can scam this program,” said Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.

The LWC has also been working with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General on a case involving a Florida man accused of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The LWC identified the potential fraud in 2009 and has been working with the OIG since then providing information to aid the investigation.

“We are proud of the efforts made by the Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this case and will continue to support them in any way possible,” Eysink said. “We are committed to attacking fraud anywhere we find it so that legitimate business owners don’t have to pay the price for these actions.”

As part of that commitment, the LWC has been using a multi-pronged approach to identify fraud.

The LWC worked with technology vendor SAS to develop a system that analyzes information such as wage and tax filings, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation claims and new hire listings to enhance existing efforts to identify fraud.

Through memorandums of understanding with partner agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Louisiana Department of Revenue, Secretary of State’s office, Department of Corrections and Office of Motor Vehicles, the LWC is able to run cross matches on businesses in an effort to more readily pick up on potential fraudulent activity.

Through its engagement of SAS, the LWC also is using cutting edge predictive modeling and social network analysis to detect potential fraud. This is the first program of its kind in the country.

Federal and state law requires employers to report newly hired and re-hired employees in Louisiana to the Louisiana Directory of New Hires, and that data feeds into a national directory. The LWC is able to cross-check unemployment claimant information against the National Directory of New Hires to look for potential fraud.

“With these additional anti-fraud tools in place, we can much more quickly act on cases such as the one involving the Florida man,” Eysink said. “This should be a warning to anyone out there who is even thinking about committing fraud.”

Those individuals arrested in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are part of the LWC’s efforts to collect unemployment overpayments. Once an overpayment is detected, the LWC contacts the recipient to arrange restitution. Overpayments made as a result of fraud also result in a denial of unemployment benefits for one year in addition to any potential criminal penalties. State income tax refunds are garnished until the overpayment is repaid, and the LWC also is working with the IRS to institute a system that targets federal income tax refunds.

Unemployment insurance claimants are responsible for the accuracy of all of their answers when filing a claim. Each week while someone is receiving benefits, they must attest that they did not work during the previous week, or, if they did work, they must report their earnings, even if they have not yet received a paycheck. Cash wages, part-time job wages, temporary job wages, and self employment wages also must be reported, and for the week in which they were earned, even if payment has not been received.

Claimants who have committed fraud by theft of unemployment benefits may contact the LWC Overpayment Department (1-866-783-5567) to establish a repayment plan. Once a plan is established, payments must be made on time. Repayment of benefits prior to prosecution may weigh in the claimants’ favor. Each case will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the AG’s Office and the LWC.

Employers also should ensure that the wage records they submit quarterly are complete and accurate, as they also enable better fraud detection. Failure to do so may result in penalties against employers.

To report suspected unemployment fraud, go to the LWC website, www.laworks.net, click Unemployment Insurance in the upper right corner, then click Report Fraud.