For reference. Me and my gf were both student workers. Non work study. At school.

My school closed down due to Covid and we both lost our jobs there. We didn’t make enough money for normal unemployment but we qualified for PUA (pandemic unemployment)

I claimed until may where I had an issue with identity verification. They told me then I owed them 4k and I was committing fraud which is bullshit. I fought them all the way to court and got them to pay me from March - July because at the end of July I found a new job and stopped claiming.

I thought it was finally over then.

Then me and my gf get “fact finding forms” to prove our place of employment closed due to Covid and our employer said we can’t work. We provided them this information showing our school closed down, and our boss said no more student work until notified, which proves we lost our jobs due to Covid.

Then last week I get a letter saying I was ineligible from may23rd - July25th and I owe ALL THAT MONEY BACK. Which is 8k. That’s bullshit cause I was unemployed then.

It gets worse.

Today my gf gets her results back from the fact finding and they are saying HER WHOLE CLAIM is not eligible and she owes everything back... which is over $16,000

this is f***ing ridiculous and the system is f***ed all. I have to go to court again for this s***. My gf is so f***ing stressed right now she is going to lose all her money and not be able to afford anything because of this wack ass system.

Anyways unemployment is wack and we didn’t even commit any fraud yet we are treated like criminals.

Edit: according to mass legal services (whatever the f*** that is) I’m eligible. F*** This system man I gotta fight them again.

masslegalservices.org/content/frequently-asked-questions-pua-students

HUGE UPDATE: i could have done this months ago and they changed the requirements about these overpayments. and because they took so long to determine what i owed (3 months), i am eligible for a waiver to get all the money we back back to them. Just applied for me and my gf and we both got approved and are getting $16,000 back Scam completed

Just contacted my state reps about this cause they helped me when they said I was committing fraud back in may to clear this all up.... please dear god help us

Holy f*** I'm sorry, dude that's really s***

Praying for you man, truly plz keep us posted. So sorry you & your girl are going through this

thespun.com/pac-12/usc/usc-football-munir-mcclain-unemployment-benefit-fraud-investigation-suspension

That guys “job” was reselling sneakers

I HAD A REAL JOB THAT I PAID TAXES ON

prove it!

Its f***ing ridiculous the time and resources they're wasting on a case like this. They're literally doing everything wrong they could be doing wrong. I hope court sets everything straight and you'll be proven innocent and they'll compensate you for these shenanigans. Keep calm and your head up, because if you got your paperwork alright you should be fine. I can imagine the stress, but try to stay positive. Keep us updated fam

I DID multiple times and even proved it in court already

this sounds like a classic case of DOUBLE JEOPARDY you can't be charged with these crimes

Tell the department of unemployment that

i will represent you in court if you'd like as long as i can zoom in

I couldn’t even sleep last night from the stress that they can take everything away from me and my girl.

in all seriousness, the government is f***ed. contact a specialty lawyer for this i'd say and get it solved once and for all if you can. it sounds like you have nothing to actually worry about? like what are they going to do, seize your imaginary assets?

This f***ing ridiculous. F***ing pandemic and they’re out here trying to make sure no one got an extra dollar. I pray to the most high this go away for you bro

Spending our tax dollars to pursue BS cases against other tax paying citizens

What a world

If they’ll continue to mess with this bullshit I wouldn’t hesitate to contact some press

I already contacted my state rep and they are reaching out for me in my behalf. Hopefully something comes out of this.

Im reading horror stories on line like this too in my state and they are taking 5-7 months to get a court date

us court system is a joke

also OP your gf made $16,000 net in unemployment as a student in a few months and spent that all? literally how are you guys getting so much money and where is it all going

seems like a pretty sweet gig I can imagine why these government drones are going after people even if you're doing nothing wrong

Unemployment stimulus was normal unemployment + $600

We were making so much money

But like we have the money to pay it back. We havnt spent it all.. just that’s a scary amount of money and we used most of it on rent and essentials.

This will basically wipe out most of our savings

damn g thats really f***ed up

Imma try to never receive unemployment then

jesus

Part of me just wants to pay this $ to shut them up once and for all but I can’t let them win when we deserved this money