Politics on the Hudson

In Jail, Prisoners Collect Unemployment Benefits

Posted by: Joseph Spector - Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 11, 2009

Eleven prisoners collected about $30,000 in unemployment benefits while in jail, according to an audit released today by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

His office stopped another $18,000 in payments from going to them.

“Crime should not pay, but these prisoners figured out a way to game the system from inside a cell,” DiNapoli said.

Auditors reviewed payments made by the Department of Labor to individuals receiving unemployment and matched them against the prison population, coming up with the 11 prisoners. Auditors found another 14 prisoners who also may have received benefits while in jail.

 

 

 

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3 Responses to “In Jail, Prisoners Collect Unemployment Benefits”

1. Zyskandar A. Jaimot August 14th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

   How did these prisoners ‘look’ for work and how did they physically attempt to be interviewed for the positions applied for??? Who checked their refs and aps???

   Zyskandar A. Jaimot, Orlando, Fl., state of not-as-STOOPID-as NY OBAMALAND

2. Jarvis Scavo June 30th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

   Well… that blows. I’ve been unemployed for almost a year. I had been really praying that they would do something. No such luck today.

3. Jiff March 29th, 2011 at 8:15 am

   They do have work release in county jails which makes them able to work.