JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Prior arrests are coming back to haunt unemployed Floridians as thousands found their benefits on hold weeks ago, and still can’t get their claims fixed
“The last payment I received was Feb. 12 and here we are April 1,” said unemployed veteran Joseph Wesley. “April fools, I guess the joke is on me.”
Wesley said he served one night in jail in 2017 and has had a clean record since. He was surprised to find this new issue.
“The Department is aware of an issue affecting Reemployment Assistance claimants who may have previously been incarcerated and is actively working to resolve the issue so that eligible claimants are paid the benefits they are owed,” DEO said in a statement.
Unemployment expert Vanessa Brito said the problem stems from DEO implementing additional security protocols after a spike in fraudulent claims this year.
“Among them was going through the Department of Corrections crossmatching records process and seeing if anyone who was receiving benefits was currently incarcerated,” Brito said.
This flagged claims of people like Wesley, who has tried countless methods to have agents bail him out of this mess.
“I’m like, you just verified all of my information, you’re talking to me, obviously I’m not in jail,” Wesley said.
Brito said she estimates roughly 20% of people hitting this roadblock were never even incarcerated.
Something that was intended to protect the state and its claimants completely backfired.
“The hold was put on right away,” Brito said. “And something that was put on overnight is now taking weeks to remove.”
Wesley refuses to let his benefits remain under lock and key.
“I’m not going away,” Wesley said. “You’re not going to dismiss me. Basically what you’re doing is stealing my benefits.”
If you need this hold released, Brito suggests you email these agents.
Email Verbiage Should Include:
- Subject: Incarceration Hold
- Body of Email:
- Name
- Claimant ID
- Attach any kind of documentation regarding your incarceration.