Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Frank Haworth (age 42) of Pawtucket, pleaded nolo contendre today before Providence Superior Court Magistrate Patrick Burke to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500 for collecting more than $7,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while he was working at T&C Woodworking, Inc. in Pawtucket. Under the terms of the plea, Haworth was sentenced to four years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,251 to the State of Rhode Island.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that between March 1, 2009 and October 31, 2011, Haworth failed to accurately report his weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RI-DLT) when he called in to the RI-DLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize his weekly unemployment benefits. While Haworth was collecting unemployment benefits he was working for T&C Woodworking in Pawtucket, RI.
The case was initiated by RI-DLT fraud investigator Andrew Allin and then referred to the Rhode Island State Police, where the investigation was led by Detective Kevin Kojoian and Investigator Michael Douglas. Special Assistant Attorney General Carole L. McLaughlin prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.
"Our focus on rooting out fraud and abuse in our unemployment insurance program is producing significant results," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "In the last year alone, my office charged 30 individuals with unemployment insurance benefit fraud and disposed of 12 cases which resulted in more than $210,000 in court-ordered restitution. Accountability in our safety net programs is critical to the long term integrity and fiscal health of the systems."
The Office of Attorney General is assigned a prosecutor funded by RI-DLT that is devoted exclusively to prosecuting fraud cases referred by the RI-DLT involving unemployment insurance benefits fraud, workers' compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations, and labor standards violations. The prosecutor in this position is solely responsible for screening, charging, prosecuting, tracking, and reporting case results to RI-DLT and the Office of Attorney General.