PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — In R.I. Director of Labor and Training (DLT) Scott Jensen’s bi-weekly interview with 12 News at 4, he said they are freezing all unemployment accounts with fraudulent activity.
If you believe you may be a victim of unemployment fraud, you should contact the R.I. State Police by filling out their online form, and though you will not hear from the DLT that your account has been frozen, Jensen assures residents they are on top of it.
“We are freezing all of them,” he said. “We are very, very interested in making sure that folks benefits are frozen if any fraudulent activity was claimed.”
If someone has been a victim of unemployment fraud and it has been reported, Jensen said they will not have to worry about paying taxes on it.
“There are going to be folks that didn’t get the mail or don’t know they’ve been victim of fraud yet and they will get a 1099 in the mail,” he said. “No one is going to have to pay taxes on a benefit they didn’t get, we will make sure that’s the case.”
If you do get a 1099 on a fraudulent unemployment claim there is a form to fill out on the DLT website and they will send an amended form, according to Jensen.
Roughly 80,000 people in Rhode Island remain on unemployment insurance, according to Jensen.
