New York lost 11 bln USD in unemployment fraud in 2020: audit

People walk through the Times Square in New York, the United States, Dec. 14, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

"There was a good intent to get as much money out the door -- but the problem was that it made the system even more susceptible to fraud, particularly with regard to identity theft," says Tom DiNapoli.

NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of New York let fraudsters make off with at least 11 billion U.S. dollars in taxpayer cash as jobless claims soared during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, aided by loosened eligibility rules and an already crumbling state unemployment system, New York Post reported Tuesday, citing state comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The 11 billion dollars was lost in 2020 to outright fraud and overpayments, according to DiNapoli's audit of the mess. But he warned that despite the stunning theft in the first year of the pandemic and lockdowns, billions more in fraud is likely to be uncovered.

"There was a good intent to get as much money out the door -- but the problem was that it made the system even more susceptible to fraud, particularly with regard to identity theft," the comptroller was quoted as saying.

It remains unclear just how much unemployment fraud and waste cost the state after the first year of the pandemic, especially with the state Labor Department holding out on key data substantiating whether it prevented as much fraud as it claimed to DiNapoli, said the report.

"We generally find that in many agencies, the responsiveness and ultimately the transparency is not where it should be," said DiNapoli, noting months-long delays in getting responses from the Labor Department while preparing the audit.