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The Washington County Budget Board discussed unemployment fraud claims and how to handle them in a meeting on Wednesday.

County Clerk Annette Smith said Washington County has seen four to five of these fraudulent claims. She said they have not seen an issue with unemployment fraud in over a week.

Notifying employees is a top priority. Smith said she spoke with Oklahoma County and they are handling the situation in the same manner. She said Washington County is calling employees to tell them what to do if this becomes an issue. An email is also being sent to employees to provide record that the conversations happened.

Aside from that, Smith said Washington County has been pretty lucky on this front. She said she has to send an email to the Fraud Division at the state level that lists Washington County's ID number along with any fraud claims they may receive.

Current and former employees have seen people file for unemployment fraudulently with their name. Commissioner Mitch Antle said he believes there is an issue in how the information is handled in the State of Oklahoma's unemployment system.

There is no evidence of this being true, but it was a thought that was brought up in the meeting. Unemployment fraud claims are an issue throughout the nation.

Making sure everyone was aware of the situation with unemployment fraud claims was the biggest priority in Wednesday's Budget Board meeting. Commissioner Antle said staff members should contact Smith if any Washington County staff member catches an unemployment fraud claim before anyone in Washington County Administration catches it.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating this matter in the State of Oklahoma.