NY State Unemployment is a weird setup.
In 2001 Hubby’s job relocated us from NY to CA. Because of relocation I was getting unemployment from NY. Within a few weeks I got a job in CA so called NY to tell them to stop sending checks. I asked how I could return the money I’d already received after I was hired.
The rep was gobsmacked. She said nobody had ever done that before, and they didn’t even have a procedure for stopping payments or receiving returns. (I didn’t believe her; assumed she was just lazy.) She said that since I was so honest I should just keep the money.
So as checks came in I stacked them up. At the end, I sent them back, Certified Mail, and don’t know what happened after that.
I’m convinced this and many other bureaucracies simply do not care about fraud, equity or fairness - as long as it doesn’t become a PR or political issue. Their job is to distribute government money. Paper money has no meaning for government bureaucrats. Its why the nation is $30 Trillion in debt, and rising fast