An audit early this year estimated 280 state of Georgia employees received undue jobless benefits during the pandemic.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson tells 95.5 WSB his department is learning many of those incidents were unintentional. “And we give them opportunity to repay that,” Thompson adds. “That’s not someone we need to prosecute.”

However, the eight employees indicted in Fulton County were on the state’s payroll while allegedly falsely raking in thousands of undue dollars, even while others struggled.

“Any dollar amount taken out of the trust fund that was set aside to give to people that are at the most vulnerable time in their life, is too much money,” Thompson says.

He adds that this first wave of indictments is just the ‘tip of the spear.’

James Neville, La-Kira Williams, Denice Vance, Divincia Richardson, Willie Jones, Tamika C. Goodwin, Curesha Blair, and Regina Sterling were reportedly charged with multiple counts of making false statements and writings.

All but Goodwin, Blair, and Sterling face additional counts for violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law.

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