A suburban accountant, Hiam Hmaidan, has been accused of orchestrating a significant fraud scheme involving Illinois unemployment insurance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. These fraudulent claims are reported to total at least $10 million. Hmaidan, who resides in Oak Lawn, was arrested on May 8 following a six-count indictment that became public this week, which charges her with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. After pleading not guilty, Hmaidan was released on a $100,000 recognizance bond.

The charges allege that between May 2020 and December 2022, Hmaidan and other co-conspirators used the personal information of various individuals to dishonestly apply for unemployment insurance benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. As per the charges, the applications, submitted online, contained false employment details, fraudulent information about the claimant’s employment status due to the pandemic, and incorrect information about the claimant’s contact details. Once these applications were sanctioned, IDES disbursed the unemployment funds on pre-loaded debit cards to Hmaidan and her co-conspirators. These funds were subsequently withdrawn as cash from ATMs or transferred to various accounts.

A report issued by the Illinois auditor general in 2023 indicated that the IDES program for enhanced unemployment insurance, established in the early stage of the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, was bogged down with claims and significantly mismanaged. The report revealed that IDES had overpaid more than $5.2 billion in unemployment benefits during the first 18 months of the pandemic, with a significant fraction attributed to fraudulent claims.

While navigating unemployment claims can be challenging, many individuals seek effective ways to reach out to the respective departments. If you are facing issues getting your concerns addressed, platforms like eddcaller.com can be extremely helpful when trying to get a hold of Customer Service or a live representative at the California EDD, or any other similar departments. The site assists users in contacting EDD, understanding how to get through to EDD, or how to switch from check to debit card for EDD payments, among other services.