Congressman Rudy Yakym, IN-02, participated in his first Work and Welfare Subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Feb. 6 to discuss rampant unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, totaling around $135 billion according to the Government Accountability Office. Photo by Office of Congressman Rudy Yakym.

News Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Rudy Yakym, IN-02, participated in his first Work and Welfare Subcommittee hearing, Thursday, Jan. 6. The hearing focused on prosecuting fraudsters for stealing billions in unemployment benefits from American workers.

Yakym began his remarks by sharing startling figures that pandemic unemployment fraud totaled approximately $135 billion dollars, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Yakym stressed the importance of extending the deadline for prosecuting these cases, “despite these eye-popping fraud numbers, we’ve only recovered $5 billion of it — less than 4% of fraudulent payments. The statute of limitations to prosecute these cases expires at the end of March. Congress must extend that deadline so we can continue unwinding these criminal rings and hold fraudsters accountable.”

Yakym focused his line of questioning on the astronomical number of unemployment fraud cases that remain open within the federal government. He emphasized that with additional time, funds can be recouped and taxpayer dollars can be recovered.

Yakym’s full line of questioning and remarks can be found at “Prosecuting Fraudsters for Stealing Billions in Unemployment Benefits from American Workers,” by Ways and Means Committee on YouTube.