As the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) continues to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Michigan has selected Deloitte, a nationally recognized professional services organization, to assist the UIA with financial operations, investigations into imposter claims, and a forensic review to help in identifying fraudulent activity that can be quickly turned over to law enforcement for prosecution.

“As the UIA works to improve its systems to enhance customer service, data transparency, payment systems and fraud prevention, we’re glad to have Deloitte on our team,” said UIA Director Steve Gray. “The Deloitte team’s skills and experience help us protect Michiganders and provide unemployment benefits to our working families.”

Deloitte will review the programs and systems at the UIA and assist with the investigation of imposter and fraudulent claims. Deloitte has extensive experience with state unemployment and workforce systems across the country and will provide valuable financial and systems knowledge as the UIA continues to process a historic number of claims during this health and economic crisis. Deloitte will also bring additional capacity to help the state identify potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities and take action to mitigate identified risks.

“Consistent with our commitment to our clients and our communities, Deloitte is pleased to bring our deep understanding of unemployment insurance systems and our broad capabilities in cybersecurity and forensic assessment to support the State of Michigan’s efforts to protect the integrity of their complex systems,” said David Parent, Michigan Managing Principal, Deloitte LLP.

Criminal unemployment activity in Michigan is a part of an attack on unemployment systems nationwide. The U.S. Secret Service issued a national alert in May regarding an international criminal ring exploiting the COVID-19 crisis to commit largescale unemployment fraud and the Inspector General of the U.S. Dept. of Labor has warned that the coronavirus pandemic has created a perfect storm for criminal activity across the country.

The Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the UIA are part of Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force which is working to identify, locate, and prosecute criminals suspected of unemployment fraud. LEO has also appointed retired Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Secret Service Jeffrey Frost as a Special Fraud Advisor to serve as a liaison to the task force and provide expertise in the State’s efforts to protect Michiganders from unemployment fraud.