Green Isle man charged with unemployment fraud

A Green Isle man is accused of collecting unemployment benefits he was not eligible to receive.

Richard Charles Amrhein, 41, was charged last week in Sibley County Court with felony unemployment benefits fraud.

According to a criminal complaint, Amrhein applied for unemployment insurance in March 2020, listing COVID-19 as the reason for leaving his position at Lion’s Tap.

In Sept 2020, Amrhein updated his application to indicate he wanted to apply for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program, according to the complaint. Amrhein qualified for a $740 weekly benefit amount based on the wages and hours he reported, according to findings from a Minnesota Department of Public Safety investigation.

The complaint says Amrhein received $64,790 in unemployment insurance benefits between March 2020 and May 2021. But investigators say Amrhein also received $53,306 in earnings he never reported to the state.

Unemployment insurance recipients are asked each week when making a claim for benefits whether they have worked or received wages. Amrhein, investigators say, received more than $60,000 in wages he was not eligible to receive.