DETROIT (AP/FOX 17) — The state of Michigan is dropping charges and arrest warrants against nearly 200 people accused of illegally collecting unemployment benefits.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration said Thursday it’s taking another look at the cases, along with thousands of others. The state admits that many people were wrongly targeted by a computer system.
The state says there are 186 arrest warrants against people in Wayne, Genesee and Macomb counties, all but 10 in Detroit. Those warrants will be canceled.
Wanda Stokes, head of the Talent Investment Agency, says the action is being taken “out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of justice.”
She says more than $16 million has been or will be returned to people across Michigan whose tax refunds or wages were wrongly seized.
“We continue to work tirelessly to restore the public’s trust in our Unemployment Insurance System, and we are undertaking a comprehensive review of everything we do to make sure residents are getting the best possible service,” Stokes said in a press release. “During this review period, it is important that we work with the courts and ask that some bench warrants for people issued in relation to unemployment fraud cases be dismissed.”
People who have additional questions can call the TIA-UI hotline at (855) 842-7463.
The FOX 17 Problem Solvers have been investigating the erroneous fraud claims from the UIA for over two years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
