COLUMBIA, S.C. — A woman who allegedly stole almost $40,000 from South Carolina's Unemployment Insurance (UI) system over an eleven-year period has been convicted of fraud and other crimes according to SC Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) Executive Director Dan Ellzey.
Diana B. Jordan was arrested in 2015 for her role as the leader of a fraud ring that stole the money. She was charged and a jury found her guilty of four counts of forgery and four counts of making a false statement (or misrepresentation).
Jordan was sentenced to one-year active sentence in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center followed by five years of probation upon completion of her prison sentence. She is additionally ordered to pay back $39,998.70 in restitution fees owed to SCDEW.
“There are severe consequences to committing UI fraud and Diana Jordan’s sentence is a testament to that,” Ellzey said. “Filing for unemployment benefits while not disclosing wages is considered a criminal act in South Carolina. You can rest assured that our agency will prosecute people like Ms. Jordan to the fullest extent of the law. Her trial should be a warning to any criminal wanting to take advantage of the UI system."
