Unemployment Insurance investigators earn federal recognition for assistance in fighting identity theft in Michigan, Florida

May 18, 2017 - Three lead fraud investigators from Unemployment Insurance are being saluted by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of Inspector General for their work fighting identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud. 

Senior Regulation Agents Kurt Eggly, Todd Kangas and Jon Martin received the Inspector General Special Assistance Award for providing expert help in investigations that led to 24 convictions, more than $2.2 million in criminally ordered restitution, and over $1.5 million of administrative penalties issued against subjects in Michigan and Florida.

The agents work with local, state and federal agencies to help stop schemes where individuals or groups use stolen personal information to file unemployment benefits.

“Identity theft is a growing problem across the nation, and we’re very proud of the great work that’s being done by our investigators in partnership with federal authorities to bring cases of fraud and identity theft to justice,” said Wanda Stokes, director of Michigan’s Talent Investment Agency, which oversees Unemployment Insurance. 

Eggly, Kangas and Martin were nominated for the award by OIG Detroit Regional Manager James Mead, who said it was the first time his office has nominated external partners for the honor. The award was presented Wednesday by Scott Dahl, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Labor via video conference.