UI Fraud

[Harold99]

Ok, I personally would leave it alone. You don't need to report him/her, the unemployment people will catch him/her eventually and he/she will have to pay the money back. You would just be poking a sleeping bear to do it now.

It is a state issue rather than a federal one but its true that the state may ask the IRS to withhold his/her refund or your joint refund. Since you have started the divorce process now, you may not still be married on 12/31/2020 so the issue of a joint return may be moot. You can file married filing separately or married filing jointly and include an injured spouse form to avoid your share of the refund being seized.

What kind of business does she run? How do you know that she was making any profit during the pandemic? If she had receivables out there that could be the money that went into the bank account and not current earnings. If you report her for fraud and there wasn't actual fraud then that becomes very problematic for your divorce.

I disagree. The crime has ended because the federal subsidy of $600.00 a week has ended. It is no longer ongoing. He certainly did not benefit from the crime while it was happening because he didn't know about the money or that she was receiving it. He only recently found out. Therefore he is not a co-conspirator. A spouse is never required to report or testify against their spouse. Also, he does NOT know that a crime was committed because it has not been established that the money she received was not receivables that came in while she was unable to work to make a profit. You report money you earned when you earned it, not when you received it.

Very good post!

I would only add that the likeliness of her getting caught hinges on whether she is an independent contractor and owner of her business or an employee. Also how she receives payment for that business.
If she is an employee she's easily busted because all her paycheck dates are documented with the IRS. No audit necessary. If she is an independent contractor it would matter how clients are paying her and who is !099ing her. 1099's don't give dates of when money was paid but paychecks do. If she is a business owner she'd have to be audited to get busted. And maybe not even then.

[Redbox77]

I never said the state wouldn't prosecute, only that the OP's STB-ex was unlikely to go to jail over it. The state would rather have her working and paying back that money.


I think you may have misread what the OP's STB-ex does. I think she's employed as a manager at a small business and makes a regular wage/salary. I don't think the small business is necessarily hers.

Perhaps he should clarify his statement.

This is correct

[budwad]

I discovered my spouse has been drawing UI unemployment since it began despite their returning to work in late may. They've earned apox 5000$ with their job and collected apox 5700$ from state unemployment. I have bank statements proving this.

Very good post!

I would only add that the likeliness of her getting caught hinges on whether she is an independent contractor and owner of her business or an employee. Also how she receives payment for that business.
If she is an employee she's easily busted because all her paycheck dates are documented with the IRS. No audit necessary. If she is an independent contractor it would matter how clients are paying her and who is !099ing her. 1099's don't give dates of when money was paid but paychecks do. If she is a business owner she'd have to be audited to get busted. And maybe not even then.

There is no need to speculate about the spouse being an IC, self-employed, or a gig worker when OP is clear in his post. And then reaffirmed that his wife is an employee.

As an employee she was entitled to state UI. The CARES Act didn't change that. The CARES Act said that if you qualify for EI you will also receive the PUA. So falsely certifying for benefits when working and receiving wages is both criminal prudery and fraud. And it says so when you submit your certification.

The standard questions are clear. These questions are required by the federal regulations and are pretty straight forward.

Were you able and available for work? Yes or No.
Were you actively seeking work? Yes or No.
Did you refuse any work? Yes or No.
Were you attending school or job training? Yes or No.
Did you receive holiday or vacation pay for the week beginning mm-dd-2020 and ending in mm-dd-2020? Yes or No. If you did you must report the amount.
Are you receiving or have you applied for a pension or other retirement pay from any of the employers listed below? Yes or No.
Did you work between mm-dd-2020 and mm-dd-2020? Yes or No. If yes you have to report the amount paid.

It's possible for someone to make a mistake in certifying for the same week they went back to work but here this is going on for at least 10 weeks and it is willful.

[bcr229]

This is correct

Ok, so are you going to have to deal with custody, visitation, & child support issues, or is this just a marital property division? If the latter get it done as fast as you can and get out. If the former your case may unfortunately go into next year because the courts are backed up, and in some counties they've closed again due to the pandemic. At least you should be able to get your back accounts and lines of credit separated from hers ASAP.

[llworking]

The crime has already taken place. His spouse will be caught when they get to her audit and she will have to repay what she received while working. She will be ineligible for EI benefits until the overpayment is repaid and then for another year.

I agree with that part and have said so myself in my first reply. My disagreement (emphatic disagreement) is your statement that he is a co-conspirator.