{"id":5510,"date":"2026-07-14T02:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5510"},"modified":"2026-07-14T02:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:35:42","slug":"labor-dept-deploys-strike-team-to-ny-as-unemployment-fraud-hits-nearly-2m-per-day-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5510","title":{"rendered":"Labor Dept. deploys strike team to NY as unemployment fraud hits nearly $2M per day: officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F134281628.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration deployed a federal strike team to New York on Monday as part of a crackdown on fraudsters who took <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/21\/us-news\/labor-dept-demands-banks-freeze-nearly-1b-in-fraudulent-covid-benefits\/\">nearly $1 billion in unemployment benefits<\/a> during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, which first <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/16\/us-news\/labor-department-watchdog-flags-more-than-900m-in-unused-covid-era-benefits-demands-immediate-return-to-taxpayers\/\">unearthed the stunning fraud total<\/a>, is participating in the joint strike force headed to the Empire State, where up to $2 million per day is being bilked by fraudsters instead of going toward unemployment insurance, according to administration officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew York is stealing from the American people every single day \u2014 draining their hard-earned tax dollars through rampant unemployment insurance fraud and improper payments,\u201d said Inspector General Anthony D\u2019Esposito.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Just 25% of the fraudulently received funds have been recovered by New York State, according to Labor Department officials. <span class=\"credit\">Helayne Seidman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn partnership with Acting Secretary Keith Sonderling, we are taking a tough-on-crime approach to dismantle this fraud, hunt down every stolen dollar, and prosecute those responsible,\u201d D\u2019Esposito added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBacked by the full strength of President Trump and Vice President Vance\u2019s Fraud Task Force and our coordinated OIG and Departmental efforts, our joint federal Strike Team will deliver the swift justice that hard working Americans deserve,\u201d said the inspector general. \u201cAccountability is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Sonderling \u2014 in addition to members of Congress \u2014 had already sent letters highlighting the fraud to New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul as well as other states\u2019 governors. In past statements, Hochul\u2019s team has dismissed claims of rampant fraud occurring in state programs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>DOL officials pointed to New York having one of the highest improper payment and fraud rates of any state at 23% and 15%, respectively. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>DOL officials pointed to New York having one of the highest improper payment and fraud rates of any state at 23% and 15%, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The Empire State recorded more than $750 million in improper unemployment insurance payments and $507 million in fraudulent payments in 2025, the officials noted, but just 25% of the fraudulently received funds have been recovered by New York State.<\/p>\n<p>Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Tim Scott (R-SC) have been running a parallel investigation of New York unemployment fraud, in addition to scams targeting the taxpayer-funded programs in California and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A Hochul rep said in a statement previously that the New York State \u201cDepartment of Labor takes fraud very seriously and\u00a0has implemented several updates since the pandemic to fight fraud and abuse.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe most famous failure of New York\u2019s unemployment insurance fraud prevention during that time is a former Congressman \u2026 was somehow able to claim $24,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while being employed,\u201d they wrote in a letter to Hochul on June 11,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/02\/us-news\/doj-probing-george-santos-over-insider-trading-after-ex-reps-alleged-kalshi-bets-report\/\">referencing lying former Long Island GOP Rep. George Santos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A Hochul rep said in a statement previously that the New York State \u201cDepartment of Labor takes fraud very seriously and\u00a0has implemented several updates since the pandemic to fight fraud and abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe continue to work with our law enforcement partners to\u00a0pursue criminals and hold perpetrators accountable\u00a0while ensuring workers\u00a0receive the benefits to which they are entitled under\u00a0law efficiently,\u201d the rep added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last month, DOL OIG announced that <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/09\/us-news\/labor-dept-watchdog-to-claw-back-more-than-9m-from-new-jersey-fraudsters\/\">$9 million had been recovered<\/a> from New Jersey after being taken by COVID relief scammers.<\/p>\n<p>Reps for the governor\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration deployed a federal strike team to New York on Monday as part of a crackdown on fraudsters who took nearly $1 billion in unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Post has learned. The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, which first unearthed the stunning fraud total, is participating&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/134281628.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}