Wakefield Woman Pleads No Contest to Unemployment Fraud

WAKEFIELD, RI—Elizabeth Brill, 52, of Wakefield pleaded nolo contendere on Thursday before Superior Court Justice Kristin Rodgers, according to Atty. Gen. Peter Kilmartin's office. She was charged with one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500.

Kilmartin's office said she collected more than $8,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while she was employed. Brill was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $8,188 in restitution, at a rate of no less than $141 per month.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on dates between July 16, 2011 and May 21, 2012, Brill failed to accurately report her weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT) when she called in to the RIDLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize her weekly unemployment benefits. While Brill was collecting unemployment benefits, she was employed by JC Penny Optical.

Kilmartin said his office continues to prosecute unemployment fraud and to date has secured $254,027 in court-ordered restitution, which is deposited in the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

“We continue to work with our partners at the Department of Labor and Training and the Rhode Island State Police to aggressively root out fraud in the unemployment insurance benefit system. It is a partnership that has continued to pay dividends in the form of restitution to the UI Trust Fund, and as a deterrent to others who think they can get away with defrauding the State,” he said.

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