WILKES-BARRE - A local radio personality was charged Wednesday with fraudulently collecting more than $25,000 in unemployment benefits despite holding two jobs.
Mark Charles Thomas, 52, of Wilkes-Barre, is charged with felony counts of theft by deception and tampering with public records and a misdemeanor count of unsworn falsification. He is free on $10,000 unsecured bail.
Court records say Mr. Thomas works at MotorWorld Auto Group in Wilkes-Barre and is a disc jockey for the Mountain 102.3 FM in Pittston.
But he didn't tell unemployment officials about that.
Instead, charges allege, Mr. Thomas filed a claim using the Unemployment Compensation Internet System on July 9, 2010, and was deemed eligible for a payment of $226 per week, according to a police affidavit filed in court.
When the benefits expired in January 2011, Mr. Thomas reapplied, qualifying for a new payment of $230 per week, according to the affidavit.
But then on July 19, 2011, an unemployment compensation interviewer discovered that Mr. Thomas had "significant unreported earnings" from his two jobs, according to the affidavit.
"When questioned about the unreported earnings, Mr. Thomas indicated that he did not report the earnings because they were under his partial benefit credit," the affidavit says.
Officials began an investigation, sending forms to Mr. Thomas' employers to determine exactly how much he had earned while collecting unemployment benefits.
Mr. Thomas continued applying for unemployment benefits after that discovery, although he began reporting the previously undisclosed earnings under his partial benefit credit - a move that allowed him to get full unemployment benefits, according to the affidavit.
Investigators determined that Mr. Thomas had fraudulently collected $25,631 in unemployment benefits, the affidavit says.
Mr. Thomas appeared at Magisterial District Judge Martin R. Kane's office Wednesday morning but declined to comment to reporters.
A preliminary hearing was set for 9:15 a.m. April 11.
Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com