Money Matters: State sees rise in fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Department of Labor (CDLE) and Employment has stopped payments on thousands of unemployment claims that they suspect are fraudulent.

The suspicious unemployment claims would have totaled $34 million had the State not stopped the payments.

Over the past few weeks, CDLE saw an increase in claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

The suspected fraudulent claims came from new claimants requesting payments as far back as February, with claimants often using a stolen I.D.

The State has since changed its policy on how to request back-dated benefits. Someone must now speak with an agent if they want to request back-dated benefits for more than a week.

The change has resulted in a 40% decrease in new claims.

On Friday, it was announced that from April to May, state employers added 68,000 jobs and the state's unemployment rate dropped 2% to 10.2%.