MONTGOMERY — Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees announced last week the department has prosecuted several Alabamians for unemployment compensation fraud. One of those cases involved a Selma resident.

Phillip J. Dancy, of Selma, was tried in Dallas County District Court on May 14. An investigation by Labor’s Benefit Payment Control Section determined that Dancy received a total of $1,360 in benefits to which he was not entitled.

Dancy pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, suspended for two years pending restitution and given two years of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to pay court costs and restitution in the amount of benefits received illegally.

“We at the Alabama Department of Labor want people to know that we are aggressively pursuing cases of unemployment compensation fraud,” Surtees said. “Especially in these economic times, we want to make sure that all who are entitled to benefits receive them. But at the same time, we will not allow those who deliberately try to defraud the system to go unpunished. We are working with local District Attorney Offices to make sure that we can identify and prosecute those individuals who are committing these crimes.”

Suspected unemployment compensation fraud may be reported to the Alabama Department of Labor by calling 1-800-392-8019.