DAYTON, OHIO: Out-of-work Ohioans collected almost $2.3 billion in state and federal unemployment compensation last year, though thousands of claims were over paid.
A Dayton Daily News analysis of unemployment compensation data found one in five claims filed by Montgomery County residents resulted in an overpayment in 2012. The newspaper reports that the fraud total more than $2 million.
Statewide, more than 110,000 claims saw over payments for a total of $87.3 million last year. Ohio also recovered $43 million in overpaid funds in 2012.
An official with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says the overpayment problem started during the recession when the state agency pushed to deliver timely benefits to tens of thousands of jobless Ohioans.
The department says many overpayments are the result of honest mistakes.