(Reuters) - Up to $135 billion of jobless benefits paid out by U.S. states during the coronavirus pandemic may have arisen from fraudulent claims, Washington's top government watchdog said on Tuesday in a report suggesting the problem is much bigger than previously estimated. But a new General Accountability Office report estimates the problem is much bigger: Between $100 billion and $135 billion of the roughly $900 billion in jobless benefits payouts from April 2020 through May 2023 may have been fraudulent. At the high end, that would equal about $1 of every $7 paid in aid over that time. "The full extent of UI fraud during the pandemic will likely never be known with certainty," the GAO report summary said. Another short-lived increase in new claims in August was seen by some economists as related to an increase in fraudulent claims activity in Ohio.

---

Persons: Brent Parton, Dan Burns, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Labor Department, of Columbia, U.S ., The Labor Department, Relief, Economic Security, Department Locations: U.S, of Columbia , Puerto Rico, U.S . Virgin, Massachusetts, Ohio