LINCOLN — Two Sarpy County lawmakers are seeking answers about how much Nebraska has paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims since the COVID pandemic hit last year. Senators Carol Blood of Bellevue and Jen Day of Gretna sent a letter to State Labor Commissioner John Albin on Wednesday asking for information about what they called an “apparent wave of fraudulent claims.”

The two said they decided to act after Blood’s office heard from hundreds of people across the state who had encountered problems with the unemployment system and after seeing reports about cybercrime gangs sharing “cheat sheets” about vulnerable states, including Nebraska. They noted that, with tax time approaching, people have been receiving letters from the Internal Revenue Service and state agencies about benefits they allegedly received but never sought.

Nebraska saw a sharp increase in unemployment claims starting in early March 2020 because of pandemic-related shutdowns. Workers filed more than 129,309 new claims over seven weeks — more than the number filed during the whole of the previous three years.

New claims have declined, but remain higher than in the pre-pandemic times.

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