The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) issued nearly two-million 1099-G tax forms during the month of January. These forms were sent to Ohioans who received unemployment benefits so they can report their unemployment income for 2020, which is required by federal law.

A record number of reports have surfaced of thousands of Ohioans who did not file for or receive unemployment benefits also receiving a 1099-G tax form in the mail. Meaning a fraudulent claim for unemployment using their personal information was filed on their behalf.

The number of reported fake claims have prompted state officials to begin checking every claim to verify its validity. This could potentially slow down efforts to help those who did in fact file real claims. “It takes a little longer to track this down because, well, to help people get access to the unemployment compensation, because we’ve had so many false claims, they have to track every single one of them down to make sure it’s legitimate, which adds time,” explained Ohio Lt. Governor, John Husted. After the investigation is completed, ODJFS will issue a corrected 1099-G to the Internal Revenue Service if necessary.

ODJFS has launched an online portal for taxpayers who believe their identity was stolen and used to file a fake unemployment claim. To access that portal, click this link: https://unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov/IdentityTheft/

Contact Holbrook & Manter with any questions you may have.