Oregon woman gets $1,500 in unemployment checks she never applied for

PORTLAND, Ore. — A local woman says she received nine unemployment checks, totaling about $1,500, but she never applied for the money.

Elizabeth Kimball, who lives in Washington County, said the checks arrived at her mother's home Thursday afternoon. Each check was worth $172.

"This is insane. I should not be receiving this money. There are people out there who need this money. Why am I getting it from a filing clear back in 2002? Plus, the address is wrong, I haven’t lived at this address in almost 14 years," Kimball told KATU News.

During an interview with KATU News Friday morning, Kimball said she didn't know what to do with the money.

While Kimball didn't apply for unemployment in 2020, she did apply for benefits in 2002. That appears to be the problem.

After KATU News spoke with Kimball, we shared her concerns with David Gerstenfeld, the newly appointed director of the Oregon Employment Department. Gerstenfeld said he would look into the issue.

By Friday afternoon, Kimball called back to say investigators with the employment department uncovered the problem. Kimball said her claim from nearly two decades ago was erroneously connected to a current claim. She said the error was fixed and she will return the money to the state agency.

"I shouldn’t be benefiting from anything because I don’t need the money," said Kimball.

During a one-on-one interview with Gerstenfeld Friday, he said some mistakes are being made while processing claims. On top of the surge in people seeking benefits, Gerstenfeld said they have hundreds of new employees who are working on systems that are new or constantly changing.

"The volume of people applying for benefits is staggering. It’s more than the number of people who applied during the Great Recession, and we’ve had that in a couple of months," Gerstenfeld said.

If you receive benefits you didn't apply for, Gerstenfeld said you should tell the employment department immediately. It could be fraud.

"We do know whenever there are strained systems, there are criminals that try to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, other states have seen it, Oregon has seen it. We’re on the lookout for fraud all the time," Gerstenfeld said.

Washington dealt with a fraud scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Oregon officials say they have not seen something to that scale.

This story is part of our Following the Money initiative. If you suspect government waste or a lack of accountability, give our Following the Money reporter, Keaton Thomas, a call or write him an email.