Another Unemployment Insurance Fraud Arrest Made

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Another arrest was made in an ongoing investigation into unemployment insurance benefits fraud in Westchester County. District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said Juan Vega, 40, of Greenwich, Connecticut, was arrested and arraigned Tuesday for allegedly filing false state unemployment claims in White Plains, defrauding the state Department of Labor and people of New York out of thousands of dollars in payments.

He was charged with first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony.

Vega was arraigned in White Plains City Court because the fraud allegedly was committed at the NYS Unemployment Career Center on Bloomingdale Road in White Plains.

He was released on his own recognizance with a court appearance scheduled for Nov. 16.

Scarpino said Vega is a seasonally employed cook who, at the time of the alleged theft, worked at the now-closed Elmwood Country Club in White Plains.

SEE ALSO: 3 Arrested For False Unemployment Claims

The felony complaint alleges he arranged to receive benefits while spending much of his off-work "winter" season out of the county.

Homeland Security Investigations said it was able to confirm his travels.

Authorities said his certifications of unemployment were false because he concealed that he was actually living outside of the U.S. during periods each year from Feb. 2015 to April 2017.

Vega received unemployment insurance benefits of about $13,165.

Three seasonal workers were arrested Oct. 23 and were charged with defrauding the state.

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