SALEM — The number of Oregon residents caught committing fraud to get Medicaid and unemployment benefits has increased since the state plunged into a severe recession last year.

Investigators confirmed 1,459 cases of unemployment fraud in October — a 122 percent increase from a year earlier, the Oregonian newspaper reported Friday.

Medicaid fraud, meanwhile, increased 23 percent in the past two years, with 386 confirmed cases in the first 10 months of 2009.

Investigators give cheaters a chance to confess and pay back the money — with interest. There’s also the possibility of prosecution, but it’s uncommon.

State officials say many of the fraud reports come from friends, relatives and neighbors who are tired of hearing from gloating cheaters.

“They brag,” said Laura Palodichuk, one of 21 fraud investigators at the Department of Human Services.

The methods haven’t changed much over the years. Workers either quit their job or get fired. Then they lie, saying they were laid off through no fault of their own. Others collect an unemployment check when they’re actually working.

Data from the Oregon Employment Department show the bulk of fraud cases involved lower-paid workers younger than 40. Men outnumbered women 2-to-1.

State officials don’t have the same type of data for Medicaid programs.

One of the most common ways people cheat to get Medicaid is to lie about their household income. Sometimes it’s unreported child support or money they’re earning under the table and not reporting on their taxes.

Some cheaters lie about the number of people in their households. Palodichuk said she sees a lot of fathers living in households even though benefit applications indicate they’ve abandoned the family.

Palodichuk recalled a woman who applied for rental assistance from a program that helps victims of domestic violence.

The problem?

The woman said she’d rented an apartment at an address that Palodichuk discovered didn’t exist.

“I can look at somebody and know they’re just overwhelmed,” she said. “Others are just doing what they know how to do best — work the system.”

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Information from: The Oregonian, http:www.oregonlive.com