NRS § 612.445 – Unemployment Insurance Fraud – Nevada Law & Penalties

NRS § 612.445 is the Nevada insurance fraud crime where you fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits that you are not entitled to. The statute reads that:

A person shall not make a false statement or representation, knowing it to be false, or knowingly fail to disclose a material fact in order to obtain or increase any [unemployment insurance] benefit or other payment[.]

Five common examples of unemployment insurance fraud (UIF) include:

1. collecting unemployment while secretly working at another job or lying about looking for another job
2. collecting other monies (such as a pension) without reporting it to the state while on unemployment insurance
3. using a fake name, social security number, etc., to receive unemployment benefits while continuing to work elsewhere
4. fabricating an employer and claiming to be a laid-off employee in order to receive unemployment benefits
5. claiming to have been laid off after being fired for cause, in order to obtain benefit.

The following graphic shows some of the many types of UIF.

The punishment for violating NRS 612.445 depends on how much money you allegedly made from the UIF. In every case, you must pay restitution back to the Employment Security Division of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

It may be possible for a skilled defense attorney to get the charges dismissed or reduced through a plea bargain. Possible defense arguments to NRS 612.445 allegations include:

1. The government made an administrative error;
2. You had no intent to defraud; or
3. You were the victim of identity theft

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the Nevada crime of unemployment insurance fraud. Scroll down or click on a topic below to jump to that section:

• 1. How does Nevada law define “Unemployment Insurance Fraud”?
• 2. What are the potential consequences?
• 3. How can I fight the charges?
• 4. What are the immigration consequences?
• 5. Can I get my record sealed?
• Additional Reading

1. How does Nevada law define “Unemployment Insurance Fraud”?

NRS 612.445 makes it a crime to lie in order to obtain or increase your unemployment insurance benefits by:

• failing to properly report earnings;
• filing a claim for benefits using the social security number, name or other personal identifying information of another person;
• filing a claim for or receiving benefits and failing to disclose any compensation for a temporary total disability or a temporary partial disability or money for rehabilitative services; or
• any other intentionally fraudulent act or omission¹

Example: Max was fired from his blackjack dealer job at the Mirage for stealing chips from the table. Max then files for unemployment insurance and claims that he was laid-off due to downsizing. The Nevada Employment Security Division investigates and discovers that Max was lying about how he lost his job. They inform the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, who then arrest Max and book him at the Clark County Detention Center for unemployment insurance fraud.

Max in the above example could liable for UI fraud because he lied about being laid off in order to collect on benefits he was ineligible for.

Note that Nevada has a separate statute prohibiting employers from fraudulently trying to reduce or eliminate their payment requirements.² Typical scenarios of unemployment insurance fraud perpetrated by employers are:

• lying about why an employee was terminated or about their salaries in order to avoid paying out insurance money; or
• intentionally withholding employee deductions and not paying them to the state

Unemployment insurance fraud can be a felony or a misdemeanor.

Investigation and prosecution of UI Fraud in Nevada

The Nevada Employment Security Division is skilled at finding “red flags” in UI applications that suggest you are lying. If the Division believes fraud may have occurred, the case will be referred to law enforcement.

Note that if you make multiple false statements in support of one UI claim, you face prosecution for just that one claim, not for the multiple misrepresentations:³

Example: Stella is employed full-time in Mesquite but is struggling to pay her bills. She fills out an unemployment insurance application and claims to have been laid-off. Later the Nevada Employment Security Division calls Stella to ask some questions, and Stella lies about not having a pension.

If the Division discovers her two misrepresentations, the Mesquite Police could arrest her and book her at the Mesquite Detention Center for UI fraud. But even though she lied twice — about being laid-off and not having a pension — she faces only one UI fraud charge. This is because Stella made only one UI claim, and both lies were in support of that claim.

If Stella in the above example falsely applied for unemployment insurance on two separate occasions, then she could face two counts of UI fraud in Nevada.

Eligibility for unemployment insurance

The purpose of unemployment insurance (UI) is to help sustain you if you are recently laid-off while you search for new jobs. The program is funded by taxes paid by employers.

In order to be eligible for UI in Nevada, you must meet the following qualifications:

• you are unemployed or employed less than full-time;
• you have been out of work through no fault of your own;
• you must be available to search for and accept employment customary to your normal occupation;
• you must not refuse suitable work when offered;
• you must be physically and mentally able to work; and
• you must have worked long enough to qualify for unemployment benefits:⁴

2. What are the potential consequences?

NRS 612.445 treats UIF as a type of theft crime. The punishment turns on the amount of money you allegedly illegally obtained. In addition, you are required to repay the Department of Employment all the benefits you received:

Civil penalties

In addition to full repayments, Nevada’s Department of Employment will fine you 15% of the wrongfully obtained benefits. So if you illegally received $1,000 in benefits, you must repay not only the $1,000 but also an additional $150.

Finally, the Department of Employment may impose another fine based on the amount of benefits that you received through the UI fraud:

Note that if you are found liable for UIF, you will be barred from receiving future unemployment insurance fraud benefits until your benefits are repaid or until 52 weeks have passed since the fraudulent claim was filed (whichever is later). However, the Department can make exceptions in certain situations.⁵

Sometimes people are falsely accused of violating NRS 612.445 due to a clerical error.

3. How can I fight the charges?

Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud, including unemployment insurance fraud. In our experience, the following legal defenses have been very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

There was administrative error

Nevada judges are aware that government agencies are clumsy bureaucracies that make mistakes and may blame innocent people. The Nevada Employment Security Division handles tens of thousands of cases, and inevitably some fall through the cracks.

If the defense attorney can show that you are a victim of a clerical error, the UI fraud case should be dropped.

You lacked fraudulent intent

Nevada judges are also aware that applying for unemployment insurance is confusing. It is easy for well-meaning people to make honest mistakes, especially for Nevadans who speak little or no English.⁶

Typical errors are writing the wrong social security number, miscalculating earnings, and forgetting to report freelance income. As long as the prosecution cannot demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that you acted with intent to defraud, the UI fraud charges should be dismissed.

You are the victim of mistaken identity

In some UIF cases, you may be the victim of identity theft. The real culprits stole your personal information in an attempt to collect benefits for themselves.

Typical evidence in these cases includes electronic records, surveillance video, and recorded communications. If the prosecution cannot show that you are the one who propagated the fraud, then the case should result in a dismissal.

4. What are the immigration consequences?

UIF is likely a deportable crime, especially if you obtained several thousands of dollars in unearned benefits. Aliens facing NRS 612.445 charges are encouraged to consult with experienced counsel who may be able to negotiate a charge reduction to a non-deportable offense.

5. Can my record be sealed?

If you have your UIF charges dismissed, you can pursue a criminal record seal right away in Nevada. Otherwise, the waiting period to apply for a record seal depends on what category of crime you were convicted of:⁷

Learn more about how to seal Nevada criminal records / background checks.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Unemployment Insurance Fraud and Optimal Monitoring – American Economic Journal.
• Unemployment without Fault: Disqualifications for Unemployment Insurance Benefits – Villanova Law Review.
• Unemployment Insurance in the United States: Analysis of Policy Issues – University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law.
• Unemployment Insurance – Wayne Law Review.
• Lessons from the Unprecedented Fraud and Abuse of the Unemployment Benefits System during the Pandemic – American Enterprise Institute.

Legal References