Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say

Before the coronavirus pandemic drove claims to unprecedented heights, a South Jersey man collected $96,437 in unemployment benefits from the state while holding down a job, said authorities who charged him with theft.

NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Photo Credit: *nj.gov*

Jerry DeMarco

02/16/2021 2:08 p.m.

Brian Peyton, 50, of Vineland had worked for a major food packaging company in Cumberland County for 27 years, in fact, records show.

A state grand jury in Trenton indicted Peyton late last week after prosecutors said he had the benefits directly deposited from July 2010 through January 2017 while remaining employed the entire time, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General (U.S. DOL-OIG), and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau investigated, he said.

Deputy Attorney General Brian Carney secured the indictment and is prosecuting the case, Grewal said.

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