George Copadis announce that Melissa Padeiro of Hollis, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty and was sentenced yesterday in the Hillsborough County Superior Court – Southern District, to 1 count of unemployment compensation fraud, a class A misdemeanor. Between September 6, 2014 and January 11, 2015, Ms. Padeiro filed for 19 weeks of unemployment compensation benefits while knowingly failing to report her employment in order to obtain or increase her benefits. As a result, she fraudulently received $3,382.00 in unemployment benefits.

Ms. Padeiro was sentenced to 12 months in the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, deferred for 6 months and then suspended for 2 years, conditioned on good behavior, the payment of restitution in the amount of $3,382.00, and the use of her likeness in the Department of Employment Security Benefits Rights Interview, which discusses the ramifications of committing unemployment fraud. Ms. Padeiro is also disqualified from the receipt of unemployment compensation benefits for 52 weeks.

The Department of Employment Security provides unemployment compensation benefits to eligible claimants who are unemployed through no fault of their own. The Department investigates and prosecutes both criminal and civil unemployment compensation fraud with the goal of protecting New Hampshire’s unemployment fund.