10/21/22 - Michigan to settle UIA false fraud case for $20M

Michigan will pay $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by unemployment claimants who said they were falsely accused .

On Thursday, Attorney General Dana Nessel and the plaintiffs' lawyer said they had reached a settlement that will be submitted to the state's Court of Claims.

The false fraud accusations arose when Michigan in 2013 began using an auto-adjudication system that resulted in false accusations of fraud .      

Money was then removed from their assets such as tax refunds and paychecks.

In July, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that unemployment claimants falsely accused of fraud between 2013 and 2015, could sue the state for monetary damages.

All legal issues relative to the case have been decided.

Individuals falsely accused by the MIDAS system filed a class action lawsuit against the state in 2015, alleging their due process rights had been violated by the government's seizures.

The case has since resulted in two Michigan Supreme Court decisions regarding the claimants' standing.

The settled suit is separate from another pending lawsuit over numerous issues that came up during the pandemic at the agency.

The agency received a huge increase in claims, persistent attempts at fraud, delays in payments, overpayments, and mass recalls of payments to those allegedly overpaid.