Olmsted County Jail Inmate Collects Unemployment

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A Rochester man is expected to be charged with ripping off the state’s unemployment program - while he was sitting in jail.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office says a detention center deputy was checking inmate phone records earlier this week and discovered one that was made by 36-year-old Samuel Steward.

A spokesman says Steward had contacted a friend who agreed to help carry out the scam. The friend logged into Steward’s unemployment benefits account and applied for assistance totaling just over $1,000.

The unemployment office was told about the incident and confirmed it.

State law forbids a person from collecting unemployment assistance while incarcerated.

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