‘I’m a victim of New York pandemic unemployment insurance fraud’

By Alex P. Vidal

“A scam is a scam. A fraud is a fraud. Different rules don’t apply in the city than they do for you and me.”—Emily Thornberry

VICTOR Segundino has received two letters from the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) informing him that “a claim for unemployment insurance benefits was recently filed using your identity.”

“We believe that someone, using identity information stolen from you either recently or in the past, attempted to file this claim,” stated the second letter for the Commissioner of Labor by Office of Special Investigations dated December 4, 2023.

“You may have received notices from the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) regarding an unemployment claim filed in your name. This is not due to breach of DOL’s systems but may be the result of prior data breaches of other institutions over time, such as banks, insurance companies, or your employer. If you reported online that a fraudulent claim was filed using your identity, this letter confirms receipt of the report.”

DOL, based in Albany, assured Segundino, 68, a resident of Elmhurst in Queens and a native of Bacolod City in Negros Occidental in the Philippines, that “we have already taken steps to stop the potential fraud and that this matter is being referred to law enforcement.”

DOL assured him “the situation will not in any way impact your ability to claim unemployment benefits in the future.”

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In DOL’s first letter with almost similar message, dated February 16, 2023, Segundino was told to complete an online form “if you received a notice (DTF-960-E) from the New York State Department of Taxation and you need your 1099G form revised.”

Segundino said he believed DOL’s first letter dated February 16, 2023, referred to the fraudulent claim of his Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments of $600 per week for the benefit weeks ending 4/5/2020 to 7/26/2020 and $300 per week for the benefit weeks ending 1/3/2021 to 3/14/2021.

Segundino swore he neither availed nor received any PUA and FPUC payment from the DOL.

“Somebody must have claimed those PUA and FPUC benefits using my identity, but the truth is I never received a single centavo from those pandemic unemployment benefits because, in the first place, I did not apply for those benefits,” swore Segundino, who started requesting for unemployment insurance benefit from DOL only in November 2023 after being fired as a caregiver in Manhattan on October 27, 2023.

Segundido wants the DOL to help him expedite his November 2023 unemployment insurance claim “because I was illegally terminated, and my bills have stockpiled. I beg for DOL’s compassion and understanding.”

He said he also plans to appeal to the DOL to help him avail the PUA and FPUC benefits that were denied him after someone else had fraudulently claimed them using his identity.

“I am a victim of a pandemic unemployment insurance fraud. Now, I was illegally terminated. I have suffered a double whammy in this Christmas season, and I provide support for my 98-year-old mother who is sickly and needs financial assistance,” lamented Segundino.

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ANOTHER email I received from New York Governor Kathy Hochul which she also sent other New Yorkers over the weekend:

Alex,

Across the world, small pockets of light are piercing the darkness this week.

From Buffalo to Brooklyn, Jews are coming together to light their menorahs and share the story of Hanukkah — a story that holds special meaning after everything the Jewish community has endured over the past two months.

It is a story of resilience, perseverance, of tenacity, of the miracle of life, and of a faith that refused to be extinguished.

For too many Jews — both throughout history and across the globe today — the simple act of striking a match, lighting a candle, and singing the Hanukkah prayers has required courage.

The horrific atrocities of October 7 and the recent rise in hate crimes, even just this week against our Jewish brothers and sisters here in New York, are painful proof that antisemitism continues to fester around the world, and that we all must come together to defeat it wherever it rears its ugly head – from our streets to college campuses, to the deepest corners of social media.

In New York, we’ve taken action to protect synagogues, yeshivas, and other places vulnerable to hate crimes, boosted security measures, and taken action to combat online hate at its source.

The story of Hanukkah teaches us that we can withstand even the starkest hardships when we unite, together. Compassion and tolerance are fundamental New York values and, now more than ever, it is more important to exercise them.

From my family to yours, may your Hanukkah be full of light, joy, and dreidels that never stop spinning.

Ever upward, Gov. Kathy Hochul.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)