Eight former Georgia employees indicted for unemployment insurance fraud | Georgia

(The Center Square) — A Fulton County grand jury has indicted 8 former state employees on unemployment insurance fraud fees.

Prosecutors say the 8 submitted false claims and weekly certifications to the Georgia Department of Labor all the way through the COVID-19 pandemic to obtain unemployment insurance advantages when hired via the state. According to the State of Georgia Office of the Inspector General, the 8 received $170,931 in unemployment insurance advantages and federal dietary supplements.

According to a news unencumber from Attorney General Chris Carr, the indictments practice an investigation via Georgia’s Office of the Inspector General, the Georgia DOL and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

“OIG has worked closely with DOL and the Attorney General’s Office in bringing this case for prosecution,” Interim State Inspector General Nigel Lange mentioned in a press release. “Georgia public servants who seek to illegally further their own interests rather than those of the public they serve will be caught. These indictments send a clear message to any likeminded individuals.”

Combined, the 8 face 8 counts of violation of Georgia Employment Security Law and 79 counts of false statements and writings. Officials mentioned they charged:

• Curesha Blair, 31 with 5 counts of false statements and writings
• Tamika C. Goodwin, 48, with 8 counts of false statements and writings
• Willie Jones, 44, who labored with the Georgia Vocational Rehab Agency Industries of the Blind, with 10 counts of false statements and writings and one depend of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law
• James Neville, 36, who labored for the Georgia Department of Human Services, with 19 counts of false statements and writings and two counts of violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law
• Divincia Richardson, 31, who labored for the Secretary of State, with 10 counts of false statements and writings and one depend of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law
• Regina Sterling, 59, with 3 counts of false statements and writings
• Denice Vance, 31, who labored for the Georgia Department of Public Health, with 10 counts of false statements and writings and two counts of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law
• La-Kira Williams, 41, who labored for the Georgia Department of Human Services, with 14 counts of false statements and writings and two counts of Violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law

“We have made it abundantly clear that we will not tolerate fraud, whether it comes from outside the state, inside Georgia, or within our agency,” Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson mentioned in a observation.

Separately, in November, the feds introduced fees in opposition to 8 other people for conspiring to defraud the Georgia DOL out of tens of thousands and thousands of greenbacks in federal finances for unemployment advantages. At the time, knowledgeable instructed The Center Square the federal fees printed the possible vulnerability of the state’s methods.