Jobs chief wants money to fight unemployment fraud

By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, October 6, 2015.......... Gov. Rick Scott's jobs chief wants lawmakers to set aside $3.5 million to help weed out growing fraud in the unemployment-assistance system.

The money would in part help set up a crime-fighting unit and also would be used to contract with a professional hacker to search for potential gaps other people could breach in the state's electronic unemployment system.

Jesse Panuccio, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, outlined the need for the money Tuesday to members of the House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Panuccio said the agency --- working with state and federal prosecutors --- identified 70,000 fraudulent claims for jobless benefits in 2014 and another 60,000 during the first three months of this year.

Had fraudulently identified benefits been paid the past two years, the state would have "been drained" of $529 million, Panuccio said.

The state paid $840 million in jobless benefits in 2014.

"It has to start at DEO (the Department of Economic Opportunity). Find the data, where are the cases, block them if we can, but at least find them. Then investigate and give (the information) to prosecutors," Panuccio said. "My sense is, and I've talked with the U.S. attorney in South Florida and the state attorney in Miami, they're ready to prosecute these cases. But we have to bring full cases that they can get to a jury and win."

Most of the requested agency money would go toward continuing ongoing efforts to fight fraud, with about $550,000 helping to set up the agency's fraud-fighting unit. Another $250,000 would go toward "network penetration," which is bringing in an outside vender to hack the state's system.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, asked why the agency couldn't continue to work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other agencies. Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, wondered if the "very serious problem" is larger than what one unit could handle.

Panuccio said sworn and non-sworn officers in the new "fraud criminal investigation unit" would work with state and federal agencies, as well as with the new Florida Agency for State Technology. But an in-house unit would allow officers to focus strictly on fraud in the unemployment program and to be "nimble and adapt" to changes made by people seeking to fraudulently obtain state dollars, Panuccio said.

Panuccio also outlined to the subcommittee Scott's request for $85 million for business incentives through Enterprise Florida in next year's budget, along with $74 million for Visit Florida, the state's tourism-marketing arm, and $10 million for a new business brand for the state.

Scott has been touting the need for the boost in incentive dollars during public stops across the state the past couple of months.

Earlier this year, lawmakers set aside $53 million for Enterprise Florida, of which $43 million was for incentives and $10 million was for marketing.

The proposed Visit Florida funding would be the same as in the current fiscal year.