PROVIDENCE – Two Rhode Island residents have been ordered to repay $15,371 to the state after pleading guilty to fraudulently obtaining unemployment insurance benefits by not reporting earned wages to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Monday.
Richard Geminiani of Woonsocket pleaded no contest to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses and was ordered to pay $6,477 in restitution. Geminiani was said to have collected benefits while failing to report wages to the DLT from January 2014 through February 2016 while employed by a window installation company.
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Sareth Chea of Providence pleaded no contest to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500. Chea, a former DLT employee, was ordered to pay $8,840 in restitution. It was said that between January 2019 and July 2019, Chea worked at a bank and collected unemployment insurance benefits while failing to report her wages to the DLT.
“Regardless of circumstances, when individuals collect benefits that they aren’t entitled to, they reduce the amount of benefits that are available to Rhode Islanders who really need them,” said Neronha in a statement. “While the conduct of the defendants happened prior to this year, I think everyone has witnessed during our government’s response to the COVID pandemic how critical these funds are to those who are really struggling. Although the pandemic may have heightened the public’s awareness of issues related to unemployment benefits, this work has always been important because of its impact on our ability to help those who need it.”
