In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased unemployment of millions of Americans, Congress passed various programs to address the crisis, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. The PUA program expanded and loosened eligibility unemployment requirements for recipients. Consequently, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), the agency responsible for distributing PUA benefits in Ohio, received an unprecedented number of unemployment compensation claims. This increase in claims necessitated ODJFS to hire intermittent and temporary contracted workers to process the claims. In fiscal year 2021, ODJFS disbursed approximately $7.6 billion in pandemic unemployment benefits and later, ODJFS identified millions of dollars of the disbursals as fraudulent. To address the rampant fraud connected to the PUA program, an investigative group was established that consisted of the Office of the Ohio Inspector General, Ohio State Highway Patrol, United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and ODJFS. The Ohio Department of Taxation – Criminal Investigations Division provided further assistance in this investigation.

On February 15, 2022, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) referred an allegation of wrongdoing by former employee and intermittent Customer Service Representative (CSR) Alana Hamilton to the PUA Investigative Group. As a CSR, Hamilton was responsible for reviewing PUA claims to assure claimants submitted the required and proper identity verification and employment verification documents. Investigators examined Hamilton’s actions at ODJFS and determined Hamilton had accessed unassigned claims with no legitimate work-related purpose and redetermined the identity/employment verification and program eligibility holds without the required documentation, releasing fraudulent PUA monies on the claims.

From interviews conducted and evidence collected, investigators also discovered Hamilton and her accomplice, Lasheta McClellan, were working in concert with one another in a scheme to commit fraud in the State of Ohio. Investigators determined that the two women had frequent communications about fraudulent PUA claims, and found records indicating collaborative activities and payments exchanged between the two parties. Hamilton admitted to investigators during an interview that she was working with McClellan, stating that McClellan would charge claimants a fee to assist them in receiving fraudulent PUA monies. McClellan would, in turn, pay Hamilton a fee for releasing PUA benefits to ineligible claimants. Hamilton was not authorized to access the claims or clear issues resulting in monies being released. In addition, Hamilton and McClellan, independently of one another, also engaged in activity that resulted in additional fraudulent benefit payments being issued. The following chart contains a breakdown of the number of claims and total fraudulent benefit payment amounts in which Hamilton and McClellan were involved: 

On August 30, 2023, the Franklin County Grand Jury indicted Alana Hamilton and Lasheta McClellan on 19 counts, including Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, Theft, Tampering with Records, Money Laundering, and for Filing Incomplete, False, or Fraudulent Tax Returns. The Inspector General’s Office worked closely with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office during the course of this investigation.

Ohio Inspector General Report of Investigation file number 2022-CA00003 is now available.