NYS Department of Labor overpayment - can you go to jail for unemployment overpayment?

Take a deep breath - jail time is extremely rare for unemployment overpayments unless there's clear intentional fraud. Most overpayment cases are civil matters, not criminal. The 'fraud investigation' language is standard on these notices to cover their bases. If you made honest mistakes reporting your work hours, that's usually handled as a simple overpayment without criminal charges. You should definitely appeal this within 30 days and request a hearing to explain your situation.

My cousin had a similar situation last year with NYS Department of Labor overpayment and nothing criminal happened. They just set up a payment plan for the money owed. The key is showing you weren't intentionally trying to cheat the system. If you can prove it was an honest mistake about reporting requirements, you should be fine.

I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor issues for months and had trouble reaching anyone by phone until I found claimyr.com. They have this system that helps you actually get through to a real agent instead of sitting on hold forever. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be worth trying since you need to talk to someone about your overpayment situation ASAP.

OMG this is exactly what I'm worried about too! I got an overpayment notice for $1,200 and I've been having panic attacks thinking they're going to arrest me. Did you ever figure out what work hours you reported wrong? I'm trying to go back through all my weekly claims but it's so confusing.

The unemployment system is designed to scare people with this fraud language but actual criminal cases are rare. I worked in benefits for years and saw maybe 2-3 criminal referrals out of hundreds of overpayment cases. They usually only pursue criminal charges when someone was working full-time while claiming benefits or using fake Social Security numbers - obvious intentional fraud.

Same thing happened to my neighbor - turned out she forgot to report some cash tips from her waitressing job. NYS Department of Labor just made her pay it back over time, no criminal charges. As long as you cooperate and don't try to hide anything, you should be okay.

I went through something similar with NYS DOL last year - got an overpayment notice for $3,400 and was absolutely terrified about the fraud investigation part. Turns out I had been miscalculating my gross vs net earnings when reporting part-time work. The key thing that helped me was gathering ALL my pay stubs and employment records before my hearing. I also wrote a detailed letter explaining exactly how I calculated my earnings each week and where I think the confusion happened. The hearing officer could see it was an honest mistake and they waived the fraud penalties, though I still had to repay the overpayment. Don't panic - focus on documenting everything and being completely transparent about what happened.