The Indiana Department of Workforce Development recently sent more than 1,000 letters seeking refunds for unemployment benefit overpayments made during the pandemic.
Several Hoosiers reached out to the Capital Chronicle with concerns about the letters because they have never filed for unemployment insurance.
“You must repay the overpaid amount when the Determination of Eligibility or Recomputation of Benefits decision becomes final,” the letters say. “It is to your advantage to contact the Department of Workforce Development immediately after that to make arrangements for repayment of your overpayment debt. Failure to repay the full amount owed may result in the following collection methods.”
Wage garnishment is listed as a possibility, among other options.
Unemployment fraud was prevalent nationwide during the pandemic as benefit amounts rose.
DWD told the Capital Chronicle that the agency is working with the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure that taxpayer funds that were obtained by fraudsters during the pandemic are returned.
“Our anti-fraud efforts involve necessary system clean-up,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, a small number of legitimate claimants received notifications of an overpayment that they shouldn’t have gotten and are not responsible for. DWD is working directly and quickly on these claimant accounts to ensure the inaccurate overpayment is removed.”
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Presson said 1,202 notices were sent to addresses on file.
“Because these are ID theft cases, the address on file may not be legitimate. As of now, we’ve had 84 people call in to ask why they received the notice,” she said.
The letters also contain information on an appeal process.
One reader provided a voicemail from a DWD staffer further explaining the issue: “On June 15, our benefit payment control department begin to issue mass determinations for ID theft on any account identified by the Office of Inspector General as part of an investigation for UI funds.”
“If your client had not filed for unemployment benefits, that notice is essentially going to be followed up with an identity theft determination — in which case if they did not file for benefits between 2020 to 2023 there’s no need to take action, they’re not liable to repay that overpayment,” the voicemail continued. “This is a cleanup, essentially, of those accounts.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
