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Woman convicted in benefit theft case A Medford woman accused of collecting unemployment benefits after she got a new job was convicted of theft Wednesday and ordered to pay more than $5,500 restitution. Prosecutors said Kari Beth Beaulieu, 46, began collecting unemployment benefits of $310 a week in October 1998 after she was laid off by Bear Creek Corp., one of the biggest employers of seasonal labor in the Rogue Valley. Beaulieu eventually got a new job but continued to collect benefits for another 28 weeks, prosecutors said. She told police she needed the money and was angry at Bear Creek for discharging her. The case originated from a routine computer check in Salem that cross-references quarterly wage reports vs. benefit payments using Social Security numbers, officials said. Beaulieu pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree theft. In exchange, prosecutors dropped two counts of felony first-degree theft. Judge Patricia Crain ordered Beaulieu to pay restitution of $5,523.44 and a $500 fine. In addition, Beaulieu was put on one year of unsupervised probation and ordered to perform 24 hours of community service. Officials at the state Employment Department in Salem said the case represents a continuing crackdown on unemployment insurance fraud that resulted in 94 convictions statewide and restitution of more than $440,000 in 1999, the most recent year for which numbers were available. Of those convictions, seven were in Jackson County, according to the Employment Department. Multnomah County, the state�s most populous, had the most convictions with 36. Most of the convictions resulted in probation, officials said. More than $440 million in unemployment benefits was paid out last year to more than 177,000 people, the Employment Department said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA