Coronavirus: Idaho Labor dealing with ‘thousands’ of fraudulent unemployment claims
CORRECTION: The Idaho Statesman incorrectly identified on Monday which hotel is being used to house some homeless people in Ada County who have coronavirus. The Riverside Hotel is not housing homeless people with the coronavirus.
While dealing with an influx of tens of thousands of unemployment claims amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Idaho Department of Labor has also flagged “thousands” of claims believed to be fraudulent.
Crime rings from “across the globe” have used databases of stolen personal information to make large numbers of applications for unemployment benefits in many states, including Idaho, according to a news release from the Labor Department.
Scammers use names and addresses of Idaho residents for the application, but direct the payments to bank accounts in other states or have bank cards sent to separate addresses.
As of Friday, the Labor Department says it has “thousands” of cases flagged for potentially being fraudulent.
About 45% of claims flagged for identity theft are later found to be fraud cases. Some people may be inadvertently flagged and their cases stopped until they can verify their identity, according to the news release.
The Labor Department said its compliance department is “working through those claims as quickly as possible.”
If the Labor Department notifies you of an unemployment claim in your name that you did not file, send an email to fraud@labor.idaho.gov. Do not include personally identifying information in the email, such as a Social Security number.
Employers who notice a claim filed for someone who is still working should also reach out to the Department of Labor.
Those with pending issued will be called by a claim specialist. The caller ID will show as ID DEPT LABOR.
Last week the Department of Labor said it had reduced the number of pending unemployment claims to just over 20,000. More than 149,000 initial claims for unemployment compensation were made from March 13 through June 13.
Since Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s emergency declaration and a wave of layoffs and furloughs, the Labor Department was overwhelmed with claims.
On June 1, the department started using a call center for those seeking information, which was quickly overwhelmed with calls. The department has continued to add staff to meet the demands of Idahoans seeking unemployment compensation.
For assistance with your claim, call (833) 410-1009.
Homeless population
There has been a small outbreak of the virus among the homeless population in Ada County, said Jodi Peterson-Stigers, executive director of Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter, on Monday. After testing, 11 people in the homeless population have been confirmed to have the coronavirus.
Nine of those people are at a hotel that’s being used only for quarantine, which the homeless shelters were using as their COVID-19-positive location. Most of the cases were coming from residents of the Boise Rescue Mission. She said they have a couple of cases that were people who went to the hospital but weren’t shelter residents. They were homeless and living in cars.
Peterson-Stigers said they do have Family Medicine Residency of Idaho working with the patients and checking on them regularly. They have about 90 tests that were taken among the homeless population that are still waiting for results, she said.
Ada County Highway District employee tests positive
The Garden City headquarters for the Ada County Highway District will be closed until Wednesday after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
In a news release Monday, ACHD announced that it would close at 12:30 p.m. Monday for a “thorough cleaning and disinfection,” and reopen at 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 24.
Staff will work from home until Wednesday and can be reached by phone and email. The highway district’s office on Orchard Street is open, as are the district’s maintenance and traffic operations.
Those who need to contact someone at ACHD can continue to call 208-387-6100 for assistance.
Ada County sees 250 new coronavirus cases in a week
Idaho’s most populous county confirmed 250 new cases of the coronavirus last week, according to the Boise-based Central District Health. During the week prior, only 49 new cases were found.
The week of rising in cases was capped off Saturday with 68 cases reported in Ada, a single-day high for the county. The previous high was recorded twice in early April, with 63 cases being recorded on April 2 and April 4.
On Saturday, 117 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in Idaho, the third-largest single-day total since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Saturday was the third consecutive day featuring over 100 new cases in the state.
New cases were reported Saturday in counties across Idaho, including Canyon, Cassia, Gem, Kootenai, Owyhee and Twin Falls, among others. State health officials reported 16 new “probable cases” of the virus, and that total now stands at 421.
As of Saturday, there have been 3,585 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Idaho. No deaths were reported Saturday, and Idaho’s death total remains at 89.
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the majority of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 1,077, Adams 8, Bannock 75, Benewah 13, Bingham 29, Blaine 508, Bonner 12, Bonneville 62, Camas 1, Canyon 392, Caribou 8, Cassia 144, Custer 2, Elmore 38, Franklin 17, Fremont 3, Gem 14, Gooding 51, Idaho 3, Jefferson 9, Jerome 185, Kootenai 122, Latah 7, Lemhi 2, Lincoln 31, Madison 21, Minidoka 96, Nez Perce 75, Owyhee 15, Payette 37, Power 13, Teton 13, Twin Falls 424, Valley 3 and Washington 75.
Community spread has been confirmed in 26 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls and Washington.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 10:50 AM.
