The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions is strengthening efforts to catch those who cheat the state's unemployment benefits system.

While the department hasn't prosecuted anyone for fraud in the past five years, it has reported that it detected fraud of $15.7 million last year alone.

In September, the agency received a $2.5 million grant to connect with a national computer system that tracks people who are returning to work and no longer qualify for benefits. The money also will help the department audit 50 claimants a week to be sure they are actually looking for a new job.

"We are very excited about it," said department Secretary Celina Bussey, who has called fraud and other incorrect payments a top priority for the Gov. Susana Martinez administration.

While Bussey is optimistic about improving the system, the work looms large. The department in 2009, for example, paid out nearly $341 million in claims, $22.6 million of which were "overpayments." Those are payments made to claimants that include fraud, as well as payments that are appealed by an employer and later reversed.

Overpayments are not always intentional and can include benefits that are later redetermined because of a lack of information, among other things.

The grant comes to the department in one of the busiest years for the agency, as unemployment rates remain high.

With the growth in the number of claims paid, the amount of overpayments has risen in the past five years, up from $6 million in 2006 to $27 million in 2010. That is according to federal figures that track the overpayments that states can reasonably be expected to discover and try to recover. At the same time, overall claims paid have risen from about $99 million in 2006 to $310 million in 2010.

The department uses figures that are compiled through the federal Department of Labor's Benefit Accuracy Measurement Program, which audits 480 random cases in New Mexico a year to check the accuracy of benefit decisions.

The percent of the overpayments that are fraudulent has remained about the same, Bussey said, but the department wants to look anew at what it could do to reduce that number.

It also wants to work more at reaching out to other state and federal agencies on cases in which prosecution might be needed.

"It's definitely something we are evaluating, and [we are] looking at the best cases to dive into," she said.

Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said those who are found abusing the system need to be prosecuted.

"It is stealing," he said. "They are taking money away from those who need it, and they really ought to be prosecuting them."

In addition to looking at prosecutions, the department wants to look at imposing penalties for people who wrongly obtain benefits, instead of just asking them to repay the state what they owe, Bussey said. There are no current penalties that the department can impose for fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

Those caught committing fraud are, however, prohibited from collecting benefits for a time period based on how many weeks they committed fraud.

At the same time, those who falsify information about their work search are subject to a warning the first time and suspension of benefits after that, something else Bussey said she would like the department to look at.

Although there haven't been any prosecutions by the department for benefits fraud in the last five years, the department does garnish wages, place liens and intercept tax returns to get its money back.

There are no hard figures on how much the state has recollected from overpayments, but department spokeswoman Joy Forehand said repayments are being made on an ongoing basis.

The lack of prosecutions for fraud by the department also bothers Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming.

He said it is time the department stepped up its efforts to recollect money the state is owed.

"It is disappointing that nothing has happened, but it doesn't surprise me," he said. "They just looked the other way."

Smith, chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, said the department has the tools to prosecute offenders, something lawmakers may need to encourage in upcoming legislative sessions to recoup as much money as possible.

"You hate to lose any of it. ... If you could shut off the bleeding, [from fraud] that's going to count as a recurring savings."

Officials at the department, sometimes as bemoaned as the Motor Vehicle Division for its customer service, say the grant also will help it work better with employers, who pay 100 percent of the first 26 weeks of unemployment benefits through unemployment taxes.

"For employers, it's important to understand that we are cognizant of their tax rates," Bussey said.

The new grant money means the state can now tap into an already existing national database of people who have recently been hired and should no longer receive benefits — one of the most common situations leading to overpayments.

Bussey said that on average, formerly unemployed workers with new jobs will continue to claim benefits for four or five weeks after starting in a new post.

As part of the grant, the department also will be stepping up its educational campaign about what constitutes fraud.

The department also will amplify its look at what people say they are doing as they search for new jobs.

Bussey herself has been tasked with verifying that claimants have looked for work by double-checking claims with potential employers.

"At least once a week we've had the opportunity to get better perspectives," she said. "We've gotten feedback from employers who are appreciative and are understanding the agency is becoming more user-friendly."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.