L&I, Office of Attorney General Urge Pennsylvanians to Watch for Fraud 

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG) Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Zarallo urged Pennsylvanians to remain vigilant against fraud.

“With the availability of additional federal unemployment program funding, fraudsters are becoming bolder in their attempts to obtain and use Pennsylvanians’ personal information to steal this money,” said Berrier. “More than ever, each and every one of us must be on high alert and closely guard our personal information to stop these scammers.”

Fraudsters have been stepping up their efforts to gather Pennsylvanians’ personal information, including usernames, passwords, unemployment compensation Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), and Social Security numbers. The goal of these scammers is to create fraudulent unemployment program claims or log into existing claims and redirect unemployment benefits payments.

While many of these fraudulent claims are filed using information obtained in previous non-governmental data breaches, L&I has observed fraudsters trying to obtain personal and confidential information from Pennsylvanians through phishing or spoofing attempts.

The fraudsters are:

• Contacting intended victims by calling, texting, emailing or messaging via social media;
• Posing as L&I or other government entities or groups to “help” claimants with issues so they can gather their personal and confidential information; and/or
• Pretending to be unemployment claimants on Facebook or Twitter and offering to help legitimate claimants with their issues via phone or email, with the goal of stealing their personally identifiable information.

Pennsylvanians are reminded that L&I never contacts anyone and asks for their username, password, PIN or full Social Security number. Additionally, L&I does not communicate with claimants over social media and the only valid email addresses to contact Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Service Center are uchelp@pa.gov and ucpua@pa.gov.

L&I has been working with multiple partners, including law enforcement, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorneys office, to identify, prevent, and prosecute unemployment fraud. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has announced several rounds of arrests since last summer, with the most recent arrests occurring on January 26. OAG investigations into cases of suspected unemployment fraud are ongoing.

“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance fraud is something that the Office of Attorney General, as well as our federal and local law enforcement partners, takes very seriously. Not only are millions of taxpayer dollars at stake, but every fraudulent claim disrupts and delays the process for the Pennsylvanians who desperately need these funds to survive during these difficult times,” said Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Zarallo. “To date, the Office of Attorney General has arrested 29 people, which represents 6 individual fraud rings, and accounts for around $2.5 million in illegally acquired funds. Our office remains committed to investigating and prosecuting these crimes and bringing the perpetrators of this fraud to justice.”

Signs of Fraud 

Any Pennsylvanian who has not applied for unemployment benefits is most likely a victim of fraud if they:

• Receive unrequested unemployment paperwork from L&I’s Office of Unemployment Compensation;
• Receive unemployment benefit payment(s) they did not apply for from the Pennsylvania Treasury; or
• Receive 1099G tax forms for 2020 indicating they were paid unemployment benefits.

Report Fraud 

If you are a victim of unemployment fraud – or know of someone who is participating in unemployment fraud – report it:

Online:

• Identity theft – If you suspect or know that someone is using your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, or date of birth without your knowledge or consent to file for UC benefits, complete and submit the Identity Theft Form.

• Unemployment claims fraud – If you know of individuals who are collecting UC benefits illegally, including people who are working and not reporting their wages for PA UC benefit purposes; or people who cannot work due to an illness, disability or incarceration, complete and submit the Unemployment Claims Fraud Form.

Phone:

• PA Fraud Hotline – 1-800-692-7469

Police:

• File a police report with the municipality you resided in at the time the unemployment benefits in question were paid. A copy of the police report must be provided to the department as part of the investigation into your claim. 

For the latest information about unemployment fraud, visit www.uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter.

 HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today reminded consumers to be on alert for notices from their electric distribution companies (EDCs) notifying them of the opportunity to review customer account information being provided to electric generation suppliers (EGSs).

Every three years, EDCs must proactively remind customers of the ability to include or restrict information being provided to EGSs.  EDCs maintain an “eligible customer list” that contains customer information such as historic usage and addresses.  Customer telephone numbers are not included in that information.

During February and March consumers are encouraged to pay attention to their bill inserts, emails or other notices they may be receiving from their electric utility regarding the eligible customer list.  Customers should refer to the EDC notices for further direction on how they can choose to ‘opt out’ of inclusion in the utility’s eligible customer list – though it is important to note that customers can contact their EDC at any time to restrict the information being provided to the EGSs.

Upon a request from an EGS, the EDC will provide account information on all customers electing not to ‘opt out’.  The lists are designed to provide EGSs with important information that will allow licensed competitive suppliers to more readily identify potential retail customers and better tailor products and service offerings to meet customers’ needs.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) It’s Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday in the area. Here in Beaver County and our surrounding  area that  means it’s time for paczki.

Local bakeries and grocery stores make thousands of paczki, a traditional Polish doughnut that is filled and fried just for Fat Tuesday.

Pączki are a specialty pastry reserved for once a year in honor of Fat Tuesday. It is a Catholic day of celebration as it is the precursor to the Lenten season, and the last day to indulge in foods before the traditional 40-day period of fasting before Easter.

Tomorrow February 16, 2021 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. Easter  Sunday is April 4 this year.

Braddock, PA — Lt. Governor John Fetterman on Tuesday announced that he had signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. The pledge, which is endorsed by the Sunrise Movement, 350 Action, Greenpeace, Public Citizen, and several other climate organizations, bars a candidate from taking any contributions over $200 from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, and PACs.

“I never have and never will take a dime from the fossil fuel industry,” said John Fetterman. “Climate change is an existential threat, and we need to transition to clean energy as quickly as possible. And as we do this, we must ensure that we have a just transition that honors and upholds the union way of life for workers across Pennsylvania and creates thousands of good-paying union jobs in the process.

Fetterman also signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge during his successful run for Pennsylvania Lt. Governor in 2018. Fetterman believes that climate change is a real, urgent, and existential threat that requires immediate and bold action.

Since announcing his campaign for the U.S. Senate last week, Fetterman has already received the endorsement of the United Steelworkers District 10, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, and NORML PAC.

ICE nearly released sex abuse convicts despite Biden memo
By NOMAAN MERCHANT and PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas prison officials say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was prepared to release three men convicted of sex offenses against children in an apparent misapplication by authorities of enforcement directives from President Joe Biden’s administration. The three were not released after discussions between the state prison system and immigration authorities. But the process of keeping them in custody raised alarms that ICE was releasing convicts contrary to immigration law. ICE declined to comment on whether it was going to allow the releases, but says it works with law enforcement partners.

Pennsylvania State Police have canceled an AMBER Alert for a 17-year-old girl from southern New York who went missing here in Western Pennsylvania.

Stephnie White, 17, had last been seen in the area of Route 8 in Harrisville, Butler County.

According to state police, White was reportedly abducted by 50-year-old Micheal Mesko.

However, a short time after issuing the alert, state police said they had located White safely.

State police have not said anything about Mesko.

Amid growing backlash, Pennsylvania GOP may censure Toomey
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican Party may meet to discuss censuring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey over his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial. County party officials said the state GOP chairman, Lawrence Tabas, emailed them shortly after Saturday’s impeachment vote to tell them that a meeting is being planned to discuss the Senate’s action. Toomey is one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” A resolution to censure Toomey came up for discussion at the state party’s leadership committee meeting on Feb. 6, weeks after Toomey had said Trump committed “impeachable offenses” in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They decided against voting on it.

Deadly tornado in North Carolina; bitter cold sweeps Plains
North Carolina authorities say at least three people were killed when a tornado tore through a seaside town. At least 10 people were injured in the deadly tornado that hit just after midnight Tuesday in southeastern Brunswick County near Grissettown. The tornado comes as millions of people in Texas are still without power early Tuesday amid subfreezing temperatures. Nearly 4 million homes and businesses were without power early Tuesday in Texas, where temperatures dipped into the single digits overnight. Police say a woman and a girl died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a Houston home without electricity from a car running in an attached garage, police said.

(New Castle, Pa.) An Ellwood City man charged with pulling out a loaded handgun during an Ellport bar fight last year was sentenced to two year’s probation in Lawrence County Court on Feb. 2.

Kameron Rudy, 25, was reported to have waved a loaded handgun around during a March 15, 2020, dispute inside the Oak Grove Bar on Portersville Road. Rudy had previously pleaded guilty to carrying an unlicensed firearm in exchange for more serious charges being dropped.