Maryland unemployment document shows more than 16,000 legitimate claims frozen due to fraud concerns

After weeks of gathering the numbers of Marylanders who had their unemployment claims frozen due to a statewide fraud investigation, 16,508 legitimate people had claims frozen and reinstated.

Nearly 16,000 more are waiting for their claims to be verified after providing additional proof of identity.

In July, Maryland announced a massive, coordinated unemployment fraud case where scammers attempted to steal half a billion dollars. Authorities said no arrests had been made, and no information has been provided on who was behind the scheme.

In the initial fraud investigation in July, over 48,000 claims were frozen.

“The initial fraud investigation announced has been completed, with nearly 95% of claims initially investigated determined to be fraudulent,” reads a statement from the Maryland Department of Labor. “As a result of aggressive security measures, the department has detected additional out-of-state and in-state fraudulent claims.”

Records report about 150,000 additional claims have been frozen since July. The Labor Department says it’s been provided $2.4 million to combat fraud from the U.S. Labor Department.