A Parma business owner said the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) is demanding he repay thousands of dollars in pandemic unemployment assistance as part of efforts to reclaim funds given to fraudsters.
“I filed everything properly,” said Brian Glinka. “Why you picking on me?
Pandemic problems
At the start of the pandemic, Glinka said his business slowed to a standstill.
“It was nonexistent,” he said.
Glinka has owned Brave Carpet Cleaning since 1999, which cleans carpets, furniture, and tile.
He was relieved when Congress created Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for self-employed workers and other workers who do not qualify for traditional unemployment benefits as part of its massive coronavirus relief bill in March 2020.
PUA ended in September 2021.
“It wasn’t what I would make,” he said. “But it helped.”
Unwelcome surprises
Eventually, Glinka said his business bounced back.
He thought the pandemonium of the pandemic was behind him.
It wasn’t.
Last November, when Glinka tried to cash a winning lottery ticket, “they told me I was denied and to call the attorney general’s office,” he said. “I was embarrassed.”