October 19, 2023 | newjerseyglobe.com
Credit: Office of Congressman Bill Pascrell
A hearing of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight today (10/19) featured aa notable New Jersey witness: Rob Asaro-Angelo, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development under Gov. Phil Murphy.
“With the dramatic increase in claimants, and the dramatic increase in benefits, there was a dramatic increase in fraudulent claims,” Asaro-Angelo said. “Fraudsters saw the pandemic as the perfect time to attack, and they saw an almost-perfect target: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.”
Asaro-Angelo added that while individual states like New Jersey can develop anti-fraud systems, security improvements on a national level would go a long way towards catching and deterring fraud. Read More: Click Here NJ SEED: Fraud is always a concern especially with government programs that provide specific economic benefits. The state’s can only do so much with a program like Unemployment Insurance where there is a major federal involvement. The fight against UI fraud requires federal cooperation.