Norwalk Woman Charged with Unemployment Fraud

An announcement about the arrest of Tisa Longmire from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice:

A Norwalk woman was arrested today and charged with fraudulently collecting more than $12,000 in Unemployment Compensation benefits.

Tisa N. Longmire, age 41, of 56 Suncrest Road, Norwalk, was charged with one count each of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community and Unemployment Compensation Fraud.

The arrest is the result of an investigation by the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney following a complaint by the Connecticut Department of Labor.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Longmire fraudulently collected approximately $12,819 in unemployment benefits from April 2010 through December 2012 by grossly under-reporting the wages she was earning in order to be eligible to collect benefits.

Longmire was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear for arraignment on February 5, 2015, in New Britain Superior Court, G.A. No. 15. The charges are merely accusations and she is presumed innocent unless and until she is found guilty.

Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community is a class B felony punishable by not less than one year nor more than 20 years in prison and/or up to a $15,000 fine.

Unemployment Compensation Fraud in excess of $500 is a class D felony punishable by not less than 1 year nor more than 5 years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit, which was established under a partnership between the Division of Criminal Justice and the Connecticut Department of Labor to investigate and prosecute alleged fraud in the unemployment compensation program. It is financed with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.