AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine officials are launching a new effort to collect overpaid unemployment benefits that recipients owe the state.
The Maine Department of Labor says it expects to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars this year by offsetting federal income tax refunds in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service.
The department says the debt may have racked up because of fraud or a claimant’s failure to report earnings while receiving unemployment benefits.
The department says it’s sent letters to claimants asking them to repay benefits they may have inappropriately received.
A portion of the money the state collects will be used to pay future unemployment benefits.
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