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DEW outlines fraud prevention, overpayment recovery and detection improvements
Summary
Director Stanton briefed the committee on identity‑theft detection, jail cross‑matches, wage withholding, tax intercepts and automation that raised recoveries from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars annually for the UI trust fund.
Cheryl Stanton described the agency’s efforts to detect and recover improper benefit payments and to limit identity‑theft fraud. She told the committee the department uses IP monitoring, cross‑matches with state corrections records and third‑party data to detect suspicious filings and prevent payments where appropriate.
Stanton said automation and targeted analytics dramatically increased recoveries: an initiative that matched wage records and automated letters grew collections from roughly $300,000 in an earlier year to over $4 million the next, and nearly $8 million in a later year. She described a range of collection tools from installment plans to involuntary wage withholding (statutory wage withhold of up to 25% of pay) and tax intercepts for federal and state returns.
On fraud investigations, Stanton said the agency works with a full‑time SLED agent and the Attorney General’s office for prosecutions in clear fraud cases; the department prioritizes recovering funds first and prosecuting only when restitution options are exhausted. She also noted the agency prevented nearly $1 million in potential identity‑theft payments by monitoring IP activity and sharing indicators with other states.
Lawmakers asked about the kinds of fraud encountered and the agency’s analytic tools; Stanton said multiple automated and analytic measures were in place and that she would be able to share more information with the committee about vendor tools or algorithms in use.
