Mass. man get jail time in NH unemployment fraud case

CONCORD - A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty and was for unemployment compensation fraud on Wednesday.

Juan Nunez, of Lawrence, was convicted of knowingly failing to disclose his employment and earnings to the Department of Employment Security in order to obtain or increase his unemployment compensation benefits; in that, on 31 occasions he filed weekly continued claims forms and answered "no" when asked if he had worked or earned income the prior week and/or failed to accurately report his wages and hours, between April 18, 2020 and April 10, 2021.

During this time Nunez was working and earning income from his employer. As a result of providing false information, Mr. Nunez received $18,337.00 in unemployment compensation benefits that he was not entitled to.

As part of his guilty plea, Nunez was sentenced to 12 months in the House of Corrections, with 60 days stand committed time, and the remainder deferred for a period of 12 months, and further suspended for a period of four years thereafter, conditioned on good behavior. He also must pay restitution and penalties totaling $22,004.40, and is disqualificed from receiving unemployment compensation benefits for 52 weeks.

The Department of Employment Security provides unemployment compensation benefits to eligible claimants who are unemployed through no fault of their own. The Department investigates and prosecutes both criminal and civil unemployment compensation fraud with the goal of protecting New Hampshire's unemployment compensation trust fund.