GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.,None — The Georgia Department of Labor says it is trying to crack down on people who receive unemployment benefits while they have jobs.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Manuel Bojorquez found arrest warrants for two Gwinnett County residents who are accused of illegally obtaining thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits.
"That is hurting everyone," said the Department of Labor's new Commissioner Mark Butler.
Currently, the department has flagged just less than 3,000 questionable cases. Butler said the majority of those cases may be smaller amounts or misunderstandings that can be quickly resolved.
But according to one of the warrants, one man lied 40 times about his employment status and illegally collected more than $12,500. Another person is accused of unlawfully obtaining more than $7,000.
The alleged incidents come at a time when Georgia has already borrowed more than $600 million from the federal government to cover unemployment checks.
"You got honest people like myself trying to find a job, who can't find a job," said Larry Bacote, after applying for unemployment benefits in Norcross.
"Yeah, they need to catch up with them and do something about it," he added.
Butler said that is exactly what he plans to do.
But there are challenges.
While the Labor Department has a team devoted to finding fraud, their workload has increased dramatically in the past few years, and their computer system needs updating, Butler said.
Currently, 185,000 Georgians receive unemployment checks.
Butler warned that the department still has the ability to find those who are looking to illegally claim unemployment benefits.
"If you're collecting a paycheck somewhere, yet you're still getting unemployment, we'll find out about it," he said. "It's not a question of if we will; we will find out about it."
WSBTV
