Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced pleas today against two individuals who committed unemployment insurance benefit fraud, with the court-ordered restitution in excess of $15,000.
Deborah Moore (age 55), of Providence, pleaded nolo contendere yesterday before Providence Superior Court Justice William E. Carnes, Jr. to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500 for collecting more than $7,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while she was employed. Moore was sentenced to seven years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,756 at a rate of no less than $93 per month.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on diverse dates between October 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012, Moore failed to accurately report her weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RI-DLT) when she called in to the RI-DLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize her weekly unemployment benefits. While Moore was collecting unemployment benefits, she was working for Lifespan/Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
Kenny Newton (35), of North Providence, pleaded nolo contendere today before Providence Superior Court Magistrate Patrick Burke to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500 for collecting more than $8,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while he was employed and incarcerated. Newton was sentenced to five years suspended with probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,422 at a rate of no less than $153 per month.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on diverse dates between March 23, 2013 and November 23, 2013, Newton failed to accurately report his weekly earnings to the RI-DLT when he called in to the RI-DLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize his weekly unemployment benefits. While Newton was collecting unemployment benefits, he was working for Done Right Janitorial Services of Pawtucket and was briefly incarcerated at the ACI.
The cases were investigated by RI-DLT and the Rhode Island State Police. Special Assistant Attorney General Carole L. McLaughlin prosecuted the cases on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.
"It is important to the integrity of the unemployment insurance program that individuals who fraudulently abuse the system are held accountable for their actions," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "These pleas are good examples of state agencies working together to strengthen our safety net programs and fostering greater government accountability."
The Office of Attorney General is assigned a prosecutor 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.