Westchester DA 1 Of Top Offices Recovering Illegal Benefits

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The Westchester County District Attorney's Office is among the top five in the state for returning illegally gained unemployment insurance payments to the state. District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. and the state Department of Labor Fraud Investigations Division made the announcement Friday.

In 2019 alone, the DA's Investigations Division Economic Crimes Bureau returned almost $244,000 in restitution from unemployment insurance fraud criminal prosecutions.

In the three years since Scarpino took office, the following amounts have been returned:

• 2017: $317,842
• 2018: $209,439
• 2019: $243,857

Of the 62 district attorney's offices in the state, Westchester's ranked No. 5 in 2019 in returning unemployment insurance fraud restitution to the Department of Labor.

Scarpino said the Economic Crimes Bureau actively pursues people who steal money from the people of New York by falsely claiming unemployment benefits and works closely with the Department of Labor's fraud investigations team to stop criminals from taking illicit benefits.

"We are very proud of their work and will continue to support efforts to keep scammers from collecting money not owed to them," he said.

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