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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    Out One Pocket - In The Other


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Wed May 22, 2013 at 08:01:12 PM EST
    Tags: Michigan, Pinnacle foods, Employment Insurance, UIA, Fraud, Cronyism, MEDC, PAYDAY, Picking Winners, Stealing From The Taxpayers (all tags)

    Have I ever mentioned I really dislike corporate cronyism?

    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."
    It was a big deal.  Shaun?  Put your skills to work for Michigan taxpayers on some other stuff too OK? Consider A123 which was paying bonuses right up until it was sold to the Chinese for a convenient technology transfer.

    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!

    Continued below.

    All of the defendants in the case received a probationary sentence and restitution amounts from $5,309 to $40,670, depending on the amount of the fraud involved. The average restitution amount was $15,484.06. Wow big money!  Steve Beatty, Chief Assistant Lapeer County Prosecutor says
    "We are pleased that we had the opportunity to work closely with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency and attack such large scale fraud from a single employer. We are even more pleased that we were able to obtain restitution to the State of almost one million dollars."
    Yeah but..

    The state gave Pinnacle $800k of taxpayer money first.

    Money it doesn't have to give back.

    But what the heck.  The employees probably figured it all comes from the same place.  And funny enough, the respect for the hard working taxpayer in Michigan seems to be equal to the program that rewards some business and rewards others; picking winners and losers. Why wouldn't they take the scam called 'economic development' and carry it to their own extreme.

    Really, what is the difference?

    In fact, the convictions were the result of a lengthy investigation by the UIA. Investigators compared each individual's employment and pay records and determined that they each made knowing and false statements to the UIA in support of their claims. They KNEW they were in possession of money that ought not be in their possession, yet carried on.

    And Pinnacle, a business based in NJ might have known as well.  However, having already fleeced the Michigan taxpayer, perhaps management saw nothing wrong with the employee actions.

    Especially if it would have threatened their own 'employment insurance'.

    < High Crimes and Misdemeanors | Thursdays Divertere: I think Welfare people should be able to smoke weed >


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    Well, lemme see here... (none / 0) (#1)
    by Corinthian Scales on Thu May 23, 2013 at 11:57:30 AM EST
    Blackstone Group (vulture capitalists hedge fund) assets are $28.931 billion, owner of Pinnacle Foods valued at $2.3 billion, and the One Term Nerd puts $800k bribe of our coerced money into their pockets for his 29 job press release?

    Nah, J-man.  That ain't cronyism.  That's the OLIGARCH redistributing what was once middle-class wealth.

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