$100 million in false claims foiled

TRENTON — A new anti-fraud unit in New Jersey has caught at least $100 million in fraudulent unemployment claims over the last year, including those filed from overseas. Labor Commissioner Harold Wirths told lawmakers Tuesday that the unit stopped between 2,000 and 2,400 false claims per week last year. The department is using directories to determine if beneficiaries have returned to work. Payment is stopped when a match is found. New software also is identifying claims filed from outside the country. These include more than 1,000 claims over a three-week period that mainly came from Internet addresses in South America. The state Labor Department will soon begin a new program to stop claims made through stolen identities.