The Maryland operation involved more than 47,500 fraudulent claims and totaled more than $ 501 million, according to Hogan.
“The state of Maryland has discovered a massive and sophisticated criminal enterprise involving widespread identity theft and coordinated fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Maryland,” Hogan said during a press conference.
Hogan added that the state, “by exposing this illegal scheme and notifying federal authorities, has helped shed light on related fraudulent criminal activities in at least a dozen other states” scattered “across the country.”
After finding “an unusual increase in federal out-of-state pandemic unemployment assistance claims,” the Maryland Department of Labor uncovered the claims, “involving mass identity theft, attempting to use stolen identities and personal information of people innocent and unsuspecting, which was apparently acquired from previous national data breaches, “said Hogan.
Hogan said the department immediately notified Maryland Attorney General Robert Hur and the United States Department of Labor inspector general and “has been coordinating with them in this ongoing investigation.”
CNN has reached out to both offices for comment.
Hogan emphasized that the state Department of Labor had not violated its unemployment insurance information system and that information on Maryland applicants had not been compromised. The department has successfully administered $ 4.3 billion in unemployment assistance to more than 489,000 Maryland applicants, she added, and then thanked the department for its successful efforts to “save taxpayers half a trillion dollars.”
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