Cranston Man Pleads No Contest to Unemployment Benefit Fraud

CRANSTON, RI—A 34-year-old Cranston man has pleaded no contest to defrauding the state by collecting unemployment benefits while employed.

Steven Barone was charged with one count of obtaining money under false pretenses and under the terms of the plea arrangement, he will serve five years of probation and pay restitution in the amount of $8,638 "at a rate of no less than $153 per month."

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said in a news release that Barone failed to accurately report his weekly earnings to the state Department of Labor and Training while checking in each week to authorize his unemployment benefit from May of 2012 to November of 2014. At the same time, he was working for the Rhode Island Convention Center and "numerous employers through Laborers Local Union 271," according to the release.

DLT fraud investigators began the investigation before referring the case to the state police.

Also pleading no contest was Ralph Altieri, 62, of North Providence, who allegedly collected more than $7,000 while working for construction companies in Massachusetts. He was ordered to pay $7,860 at a rate of no less than $164 per month and serve five years of probation.