Its irritating to the core. So, after hearing that sixty two former employees of Pinnacle Foods (in Imlay Township) have been convicted and sentenced for unemployment fraud, I immediately wondered what might foster such an environment of this kind of cheating.  It was discovered that the former employees had been wrongfully collecting unemployment benefits while continuing to work. And in the end, all of the individuals convicted, were ordered to pay restitution totaling $960,012 to the State of Michigan.

Shaun Thomas, acting director of the UIA said

"Through great work of the Lapeer County Prosecutor's office, working together with our UIA investigators, we were able to bring these cases to justice and take another step toward rooting out UI fraud in Michigan. The UIA is serious about detecting and preventing fraud and will continue to work with partners such as the Lapeer County Prosecutor's Office to stop fraudulent schemes such as this one."

Those big dollars never came back did they?

Nope.

This Pinnacle UI fraud effort represents the largest single prosecution of unemployment fraud from one employer in Michigan history. But not the largest fraud that involves a company that has received money from bread winners and other business owners struggling to survive in an era of unprecedented regulatory nightmares and work place rules.

But wait .. there is more!