News from New York State Department of Labor

For more information contact: Leo Rosales, 518-457-5519

Media Advisory: Labor Department And District Attorneys To Hold Press Conference In Buffalo

Dozens of Arrests in Relation to Fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Claims

ALBANY, NY (09/23/2008; 0800)(readMedia)-- State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith and local district attorneys will hold a press conference in Buffalo on Tuesday, September 23, to announce that dozens of individuals in the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions have been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for attempting to defraud New York State's Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. These individuals are charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state's UI program.

The State Labor Department worked with district attorneys from throughout the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions, as well as dozens of other law enforcement agencies, to bring these individuals to justice. Most of the individuals who were arrested collected UI benefits while they were earning a paycheck.

WHO: State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith; Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark; Niagara County District Attorney Michael Violante; Monroe County District Attorney Michael Green; Chautauqua County District Attorney David Foley, and Assemblymember Susan John.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 12 p.m.

WHERE: New York State Department of Labor, Western New York Regional Office, 290 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, Room 209

-30-