The state’s unemployment insurance program has paid out about $25 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in each of the last two years, according to the Star-Ledger, which analyzed the program after obtaining state records.
The number of false claims for unemployment benefits reached 7,300 last year, according to the article.
Since its start in 2006, the fund has paid more than $97 million in fraudulent claims, with about one-third of the money never to be recovered, the newspaper reported.
A number of claims originated with workers who collected benefits while laid off and continued to receive them after finding new employment, according to state officials.