History tends to repeat itself. While many fraudsters can learn from their mistakes, there are some who often return to old patterns of behavior. A Connecticut man who was gainfully employed by a restaurant, repeated his mistake from a decade earlier and tried to fraudulently collect more than $6,000 in unemployment compensation. Now, he owes his state’s Labor Department twice as much.
The restaurant worker, who was logging more than 25 hours per week, was also calling the Connecticut Department of Labor’s automated phone line underreporting the number of hours he worked in order to obtain unemployment compensation he did not deserve.The article states that he started off with slight underreporting by a few dollars, then drastically changed his claims to report that he was only working one hour a week when he was actually working between 25 and 33 hours per week. (That would definitely disqualify him from receiving state funds.)
The fraudster admitted to investigators that the reason he was fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits was because he was a bit behind on bills. (Well, that certainly makes it o.k. to steal from others to take care of yourself NOT! What if everyone did that?)The story also mentions that he confessed to investigators while at his parents’ residence. (No comment.)
In a plea bargain, the fraudster was convicted of third-degree larceny and unemployment compensation fraud. He received a three-year suspended sentence and five years of probation on each count. Because of a state law that affects repeat offenders of unemployment fraud, he is required to pay double the amount he owedwhich was $6,136.
He has effectively dug himself deeper into a hole that he might not be able to get out of again if he chooses to repeat history again.
Source: Today’s ”Fraud of the Day” is based on an article, ”Manchester man convicted in unemployment fraud,” published by the Journal Inquirer on July 1, 2016.
A Manchester man who authorities say admitted that he collected more unemployment compensation than he deserved by underreporting his earnings from a restaurant job to the state Labor Department was convicted in a plea bargain Thursday of partially reduced charges and received a suspended sentence and probation.
Paul Caraballo, 40, was convicted in the New Britain Superior Court plea bargain of third-degree larceny and unemployment compensation fraud, online court records show. He had originally been charged with first-degree larceny in addition to the unemployment fraud count.
