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PENALTIES FOR FRAUD If a claimant commits fraud, a fraud penalty assessment may be made against their current or future unemployment compensation claim(s). The fraud penalty will be automatically deducted from their current and/or future maximum benefit amount(s). • The first offense of an act of fraud will result in a benefits disqualification for a 52-week period, beginning immediately following the final date of the fraud determination. • Each subsequent act determined as fraud will result in a disqualification for a period of 104-weeks, immediately following the final date of determination of fraud. • All fraudulently received payments must be repaid in full (with verified funds or cash) before a person will be able to qualify for future benefits. • All fraudulent overpayment balances are subject to a minimum 15 percent penalty and will accumulate interest at the rate of two percent (2%) per month. These amounts will be added to the debt balance. Committing unemployment fraud is punishable by prosecution from a Class B Felony to a Class A Misdemeanor. An arrest warrant may be issued against a person who commits fraud. Each week a person makes a fraudulent claim is considered a separate offense. If a person is convicted, they can be: • Sentenced to a maximum of up to 20 years in jail for each Class B Felony. • Sentenced to a maximum of up to 10 years in jail for a Class C Felony. • Sentenced to up to one year in jail for a Class A Misdemeanor.

OVERPAYMENT OF BENEFITS An overpayment of benefits occurs when you have received benefits that you are later found not eligible for which may result from the following: • Not accurately reporting your earnings. • Not reporting a condition or situation that may make you unable or unavailable for work. • Receiving benefits initially but you are later found not eligible following an employer appeal and/or other actions required on your claim per Unemployment Claims Law. If you are overpaid, you will receive a Notice of Determination of Overpayment mailed to your address on file, advising you of the amount and cause of the overpayment. You may make payments to satisfy your overpayment online at www.workforce.alabama.gov or by personal check, money order, certified check, or a cashier’s check made payable to the Alabama Department of Workforce. Please do not send cash in the mail. Remember to clearly print your name with the last four digits of your social security number or your claimant id number on all money orders and personal checks and sign before mailing. By law, if an overpayment is not repaid, the amount owed may be taken from your future benefit payments and/or your state or federal income tax returns. However, federal tax refunds can only be used to recover overpayments caused by unreported earnings or fraud. Overpayment amounts are due and payable to the Alabama Department of Workforce 30 days after the date the decision becomes final. If you are unable to repay the balance of the overpayment, you may be eligible to set up a repayment plan per agency guidelines. All repayment agreements must be on the agency’s approved form. If you have questions about your overpayment or need more information regarding your repayment options, please contact Benefit Payment Control at (334) 956-4000. (TTY 800-548-2546) Please mail payments to the following address: Alabama Department of Workforce Benefit Payment Control 50 N. Ripley Street Montgomery, AL 36130