Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella and Department of Employment Security Commissioner George Copadis announce that Christopher Clark, of or formerly of Somersworth, New Hampshire, plead guilty and was sentenced on December 1, 2022, in Strafford County Superior Court, on one count of unemployment compensation fraud, a class A misdemeanor.

Between the weeks ending October 19, 2019, and November 23, 2019, Mr. Clark knowingly failed to disclose his employment and earnings to the Department of Employment Security in order to obtain or increase his unemployment compensation benefits, in that on 6 occasions he submitted a weekly continued claim form and answered "No" to the question: "Did you work or perform any services, including self-employment last week? Regardless of whether or not you have been paid for the work or services," while he was in fact working full time. As a result, Mr. Clark fraudulently received $1,085.00 in unemployment compensation benefits.

Mr. Clark was sentenced to 12 months in the House of Corrections, with 2 days served in jail pre-sentencing, and the remainder of the sentence deferred for 6 months, and further suspended for a period of 2 years thereafter, conditioned on good behavior; the payment of restitution and penalties totaling $1,302.00; and disqualification from receiving 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 compensation trust fund. To report possible unemployment fraud, call 1-800-852-3400, or use the online form at https://business.nh.gov/NCharge/NHES/default.asp?form_name=InsuranceFraud.