Suzi LeVine, Biden’s pick to run a federal agency office that assists states in processing unemployment claims is involved in an unemployment fraud scandal at her state department that cost Washington $600 million dollars. LeVine has been tapped for interim assistant secretary of the Employment and Training Administration
Per Fox News “the fraudulent unemployment claims were believed to be linked to a well-organized Nigerian fraud ring using identities stolen in prior data breaches, such as the massive 2017 Equifax breach. More than 122,000 fraudulent claims made in the state siphoned off the cash.”
The report adds “the Secret Service announced that Washington state was the main prey of the scandal, though other states were also targeted. Separately, California has its own unemployment scandal amounting to over $11 billion, while another $20 billion in possible losses is still being investigated.”
On June 24, 2020, I emailed a records request to @ESDwaWorks for “a complete copy of [ESD Commissioner] Suzi LeVine’s calendar from Jan. 1, 2020 through May 31, 2020.”
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
Outrageous but yeah @ESDwaWorks has been in a historically bad situation not entirely of its own making.
But Oct. 30 passed with zero records produced and no update from the agency.
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
Records officer Robert Page emailed me to say: “There has been delays in responding. Plan to provide an installment of records by November 25, 2020.”
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
On Nov. 25 I received what Page called the “first installment” of LeVine’s calendar. It consisted of a ZIP file with a bunch of individual Outlook appointment files, only covering a small period of time & NOT a calendar in any commonsense meaning. pic.twitter.com/aRSdfztY8O
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
I responded, holding back my fury, that I didn’t recall ever received a calendar in this format, nor had it ever taken this long. I then offered to show examples of what I meant.
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
Heard nothing back for several days until I bugged him again. On Dec. 2 he apologized for the delay and said he was doing some research and would respond by Dec. 25.
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
After taking some time off, I emailed on Dec. 30 asking why I had again heard nothing. This simple request had now languished for 189 days. pic.twitter.com/ndPO9XaCAt
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
Meanwhile, Suzi LeVine announced last week she’s leaving @ESDwaWorks to take a job in the Biden administration. So none of the records will be coughed up prior to her exiting the agency.
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
All this has had a chilling effect, because why waste my time filing new requests? These records, produced promptly could have helped shed light on an important state agency and its top official, who remained a top fundraiser for Joe Biden and the DNC.
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
CORRECTION: It has actually been 217 days since my records request. #FreeTheCalendar
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) January 28, 2021
ARTICLE SOURCE: newsthud.com
