Anthony Amaral, 33, with a last known address of 292 Pleasant St., East Providence, pled no contest Dec. 4 in Providence Superior Court to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses for fraudulently collecting over $12,000 in unemployment benefits.
According to Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office, the state was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between June 10, 2006 and May 8, 2010, Amaral failed to report his weekly earnings to the RI Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT) while he was employed for many weeks on a full-time basis at A.P. Leitao & Sons Landscaping, Inc. Amaral was required to report any earnings when he called the RIDLT Teleserve automated payment system each week to certify for his weekly unemployment insurance payments using a personal pin number.
The department discovered his failure to report earnings by cross-matching its unemployment insurance database with RI wage records and the National Directory of New Hires. To combat fraud, RIDLT also maintains a tip line at 401-462-1522, where the public can report benefits fraud anonymously. “Rhode Island currently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the county, and unemployment insurance can be a lifeline for struggling families. It is imperative that these benefits are getting to the people who are entitled to them,” said Attorney General Kilmartin.
Rhode Island State Police Detective John Alfred of the Computer Crimes Unit led the investigation of Amaral. Special Assistant Attorney General Genevieve Allaire Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General and the State of Rhode Island.
Funded by RIDLT, Allaire Johnson prosecutes all unemployment insurance fraud, worker’s compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations and labor standards fraud cases on behalf of RIDLT.
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