Q: Im 17, not old enough to start my online buisness. So im starting it in my girlfriends name. Need help
So I am wondering, will she be legally in trouble for having my buisness under her name and filing for unemployment? We live in the New York area. I am doing all the work and stuff just under her name so the buisness can be made
A:
Unemployment requires that everyone who intends to be self-employed discloses that fact to the DOL when they first apply for benefits.
It does not matter if someone earned no money from their business while unemployed. The key factor is disclosing an applicant's intent up front. DOL then helps and monitors those who try to pursue self-employment. It's almost impossible to look for work and start a business at the same time. Doing so can doom both efforts.
So the most important thing is disclosure. Otherwise when DOL discovers self-employment, sometimes years later, even if no money was earned from the effort to be self-emploed, DOL will likely demand repayment if misrepresentations were made to secure benefits. Insurance fraud can be raised by the DOL itself even after the DOL initially approved an applicant. And that may happen years later.
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