Crime & Safety
Unemployment Benefits Fraud Arrests Made in Rockland County
Defendants allegedly used the Internet and phone to apply for unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled.
Twenty-five people were arrested in Rockland County Thursday for illegally taking unemployment insurance benefits.
According to Mid-Hudson News, county, state and federal authorities said the defendants applied for and received benefits while living in the Dominican Republic.
Allegedly, they applied by phone or via the Internet, falsely claiming to be New York residents.
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The Journal News said the defendants have ties to Haverstraw, and the amounts people were accused of stealing ranged from $1,400 to $22,179 each.
One of the accused—Ramon Delacruz, 37—was arrested in March for taking $100,000 in illegal benefits, the Journal News said.
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The latest indictment accuses him of applying for 10 of the 25 other people who were arrested.
All defendants were charged with felony grand larceny.
For more on this story, read Mid-Hudson News and the Journal News.
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