By Anna Staver
A temporary worker for Ohio’s unemployment system bought “high-end luxury footwear, clothing, and accessories” with fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits, according to the Ohio Inspector General.
The report says the contractor worked with at least two other people, artificially inflating claims in exchange for payments and processing claims for family members.
Kyara Cauthon and Alana Hamilton were hired by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency was short on staff and needed temporary help to process the “unprecedented number” of claims, a backlog exacerbated by the federal government’s expansion of eligibility.
In 2021 alone, the state distributed $7.6 billion in pandemic unemployment benefits. The state later opened investigations and identified millions of fraudulent benefits, sometimes paid out by employees of contractors brought in to help with the backlog.
Millions of dollars went to people who either didn’t qualify or were actively trying to defraud the state. And in February of 2022, Ohio began investigating Cauthon and Hamilton.
The two women overlapped at the agency from August 2021 through October 2021.
During that time, investigators say they inflated incomes and falsified other information to inflate people’s payments. Those people then sent digital payments to Cauthon, the report says, and Cauthon paid Hamilton. Cauthon is also accused of approving claims for family members
“The actions of Cauthon and Hamilton resulted in a total of $311,943 in (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) benefits improperly paid to claimants,” according to the Inspector General. “Investigators obtained records indicating that several claimants’ benefit cards were mailed directly to Cauthon’s home address.”
That’s where investigators said Columbus resident Jasmine Shows helped. Show reportedly submitted fake medical records, tax documents, and utility bills.
In some cases, unemployment payment cards were mailed directly to Cauthon’s house, and records showed purchases, like the luxury shoes, shipped to her home.
The women aren’t the only temporary workers accused of using their access to defraud ODJFS during the pandemic.
Catch up on what happened in Ohio politics and government over the holidays: Capitol LetterJan. 6, 2025, 10:31 a.m.
North Olmsted purchases new snowplowJan. 6, 2025, 8:00 a.m.
A Columbus woman, her mother, and her boyfriend are all facing felony charges in connection to a $1.9 million fraudulent payment scheme.
Several other case cases have also been referred for charges.
This latest report about Cauthon, Hamilton and Shows was sent to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and Ohio’s Auditor for consideration.
[Anna Staver is a Statehouse and politics reporter for Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer.]
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
