COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) has referred over 2,800 unemployment claims for fraud prosecution as of February, 2021.
The agency said that it “is closely working with state and federal partners to bring charges against individuals who are accused of committing unemployment fraud for financial gain during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
DEW says that the state has two main methods of fighting fraud.
The first is prevention: DEW has added new security measures, ID verification steps and software, software to “deter and detect fraud,” and additional staff.
The second is investigation, prosecution, and collections: DEW has a team of 68 fraud investigators that work with local, state, and federal partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud.
