The New York State Department of Labor was able to prevent more than $5.5 billion in unemployment aid payments claimed by fraudsters during the coronavirus pandemic.
The department said a "vast majority" of the claims were identified before any aid was paid out.
The state was able to identify over 425,000 fraudulent jobless claims since March. And "hundreds of thousands of fraud cases" have been referred to federal prosecutors.
They said the state will work with law enforcement at all levels to hold fraudsters accountable.