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State: Inmates received unemployment checks Prisoners managed to collect $30,000
BY MICHAEL VIRTANEN The Associated Press

    Eleven New York prison inmates illegally collected $30,000 in unemployment checks from behind bars and the comptroller’s office stopped $18,000 more in jobless benefits before they were paid, state auditors said Tuesday.
    “These prisoners figured out a way to game the system from inside a cell,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
    In at least some of the cases, jobless claims were initiated by someone outside prison who had access to inmates’ identification.
    One condition for receiving the money is being ready, willing and able to return to work. Weekly certifications can be done by phone or Internet. Benefits are paid by direct deposit or debit card and no checks were sent to prisons, officials said.
    The state Labor Department said it has begun checking its records against monthly inmate lists provided by prison officials and has processes for collecting overpayments, such as those sent to the inmates.
    Fraudulently claiming benefits is a felony, Department of Labor spokesman Leo Rosales said Tuesday. Department officials will consider referring inmate cases for prosecution, he said.
    Auditors examined Labor Department payments in June 2008 against Corrections Department prison records.
    The inmates were not identified. Corrections spokeswoman Linda Foglia said only two remain in cus-...............>>>>.........>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00804&AppName=1