COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Inspector General (OIG) announced that on September 9, the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury returned an indictment against former ODJFS Intermittent Customer Service Representative Francesca Figueroa-Rivera and her unemployment benefits claimant/client Claudine Stavole for multiple criminal offenses connected to fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims totaling nearly one million dollars.
Charges include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, theft, telecommunications fraud, tampering with government records, bribery, and theft in office. Investigators determined that Figueroa-Rivera had improperly released $868,267 in PUA benefit funds with 57 different claims. Stavole allegedly used Cash App for payments related to the PUA benefits.
That indictment was the result of a collaborative investigation between the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, and ODJFS.
In fiscal year 2021, ODJFS disbursed approximately $7.6 billion in pandemic unemployment benefits and later, ODJFS identified millions of dollars of the disbursals as fraudulent, according to the OIG.
Another former contract employee hired to help the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services process pandemic unemployment claims is accused of fraudulently releasing more than $112,000 in benefits, according to a new report from the Ohio Inspector General.
The investigation centers on Sandra Schnieders, a former Customer Service Assistant employed through Randstad, a company subcontracted by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to help handle the surge of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims during the COVID-19 crisis.
ODJFS alleged that while working on PUA cases, Schnieders filed her own claim, failed to report income from Randstad, and improperly accessed both her own and other claimants’ files. Investigators say she backdated claims, redetermined benefits, and released funds she was not authorized to approve.
A review of 903 claims showed Schnieders fraudulently released payments on 20 cases totaling $112,240, including three linked to family members or friends. She also allegedly collected $18,870 in improper benefits for herself.
The Inspector General’s office has referred Schnieders’ case to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio Auditor of State for possible criminal charges and further review.
