# Roy Cooper Oversaw Tens of Millions in Fraudulent Unemployment Payments ## About this report - Author: Transparency Report Research Staff - Report type: Research - Published: 2026-08-07T21:07:35.230Z - Last updated: 2026-08-13T18:30:44.658Z ## Key findings 1. A June 2026 state audit found that North Carolina’s Division of Employment Security recorded $47.2 million in fraudulent unemployment overpayments from April 2021 through March 2025, covering nearly the final four years of Roy Cooper’s governorship. 2. North Carolina recovered only $12.1 million, or approximately 26%, of the fraudulent overpayments identified during the audit period. 3. The state’s improper-payment rate averaged 22%, more than double the 10% federal threshold and higher than the 18% rate found in the state’s previous audit. 4. A federally funded work-search database intended to help reduce improper payments was not fully implemented until December 2025, more than three years after DES received funding for the project. Work-search errors accounted for approximately half of overpayments during the audit period. 5. Cooper is now campaigning for U.S. Senate on affordability, but the audit adds another criticism of his record as governor alongside substantial increases in housing, healthcare, grocery and electricity costs. ## Full report ## Full Report ## Executive Summary Roy Cooper is running his U.S. Senate campaign on a promise to make “stuff cost less,” but a June 2026 audit found that North Carolina’s unemployment system recorded tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent payments during his administration, with some of the funds going to illegal immigrants. The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor found that the Division of Employment Security recorded $168.8 million in unemployment overpayments from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2025. Of that total, $47.2 million was classified as fraud, while another $121.6 million was classified as non-fraudulent. The state recovered only $12.1 million of the fraudulent overpayments. Meanwhile, North Carolina’s improper-payment rate averaged 22%, more than double the federal threshold and worse than the rate identified in the state’s previous audit. The audit also faulted the state for taking more than three years to fully implement a federally funded work-search system intended to address improper payments. State Auditor Dave Boliek called the lack of urgency from both the Department of Commerce and the Office of the Governor “concerning.” For Cooper, the findings add to a broader affordability record that includes sharply higher home prices, healthcare premiums, grocery bills and electricity costs during his eight years as governor. ## Nearly $50 Million Was Classified as Fraud The audit covered unemployment payments from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2025, a period encompassing nearly the final four years of Cooper’s administration. During that period, DES recorded $168.8 million in established unemployment overpayments. Auditors found that $121.6 million was classified as non-fraudulent and $47.2 million as fraud. The problem went beyond confirmed fraudulent overpayments. North Carolina’s overall improper-payment rate averaged 22%, more than double the federal 10% threshold. Auditors calculated that this resulted in approximately $90.3 million in improper payments above what would have been expected if North Carolina had met the federal threshold. That performance was also worse than during the state’s previous audit. The 2022 review found an average improper-payment rate of 18%. The newer audit found the rate had risen to 22%. ## North Carolina Recovered Only a Fraction of the Fraudulent Payments The state recovered only a small portion of the money classified as fraud. Of the $47.2 million in fraudulent overpayments, DES recovered just $12.1 million, or approximately 26%, during the period covered by the audit. Across all established overpayments, fraudulent and non-fraudulent combined, the state recovered $49.1 million of $168.8 million. That left tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent payments unrecovered even as the agency responsible for administering unemployment benefits had already been warned about improper-payment problems. The 2022 audit had recommended several corrective measures aimed at bringing North Carolina’s improper-payment rate below the federal threshold. DES eventually implemented four of the five recommendations, but the audit found that a key work-search reform took years to complete. ## A Fraud-Prevention System Took More Than Three Years to Implement In 2022, DES received a $6.8 million federal grant to support several projects, including a work-search repository designed to allow unemployment claimants to electronically document required job-search activities. But the system was not fully implemented statewide until December 2025, more than three years after the agency received the federal money and nearly a year after Cooper left office. Auditors said DES did not identify a specific root cause for the delay. The delay mattered because work-search errors accounted for approximately 50% of overpayments during the audit period. The auditor noted that work-search-related overpayments also represented a larger share of total overpayments than during the prior audit period. State Auditor Dave Boliek singled out the response from state leadership, writing that the “lack of urgency” from the Department of Commerce and the Office of the Governor was “concerning.” ## Fraud Findings Add to Cooper’s Affordability Record The unemployment audit comes as Cooper campaigns for U.S. Senate on a promise to make “stuff cost less.” But the fraud and improper-payment findings fit into a broader record in which North Carolinians faced substantial increases in major household expenses during Cooper’s eight years as governor. Median home prices in North Carolina rose approximately 85% during Cooper’s tenure. The state also became one of the most expensive in the country for employer-sponsored healthcare coverage. Between January 2021 and January 2024, the average North Carolina household saw grocery expenses increase by approximately $125 per month. Electricity costs also rose approximately 22% after 2020, including increases approved by a utilities commission made up of Cooper appointees. Those cost increases were already central to criticism of Cooper’s affordability message. The unemployment audit now adds nearly $50 million in fraudulent overpayments and an improper-payment rate more than twice the federal threshold to that record. ## Bottom Line Roy Cooper is asking voters to trust him with federal spending in Washington while campaigning on a promise to make everyday life more affordable. But a state audit found that North Carolina recorded $47.2 million in fraudulent unemployment overpayments during nearly the final four years of his administration and recovered only about one-quarter of that money. The state’s improper-payment rate remained more than twice the federal threshold, a federally funded system designed to address one of the largest sources of improper payments took more than three years to implement, and the state auditor criticized the “lack of urgency” from both the Department of Commerce and the Office of the Governor. Those findings add to Cooper’s record of rising housing, healthcare, grocery and electricity costs as he campaigns for Senate on affordability. ## Related candidates - [Roy Cooper](https://transparencyreport.io/candidates/roy-cooper-north-carolina-d-2026.md) --- Source: Transparency Report — https://transparencyreport.io/reports/roy-cooper-fraudulent-unemployment-payments This is the Markdown version of the page. Cite the canonical URL above.