On February 12th, New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that with the help of a partnership with local District Attorneys they recovered $4,500,718 of fraudulently obtained Unemployment Insurance benefits.

That is a record high for New York State.

In a press release Gov. Cuomo stated that "When unscrupulous fraudsters game the system, they do so on the backs of law-abiding New Yorkers and businesses." He added his thanks to local "investigators and local district attorneys" for their help in the crack down.

Two Hudson Valley counties were responsible for over $100,000 worth of restitution that was returned. Orange County returned $187,587 while Dutchess returned $132,808.

The money was returned to Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund in 2017.

District Attorney David M. Hoovler from Orange County said "My office is dedicated to combating frauds that effect taxpayers' wallets, such as unemployment insurance fraud. We have had great success in recovering public money that has been taken through fraud, and pledge to continue those efforts. Fraud prosecutions are most successful when agencies work collaboratively with each other."

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