Years after the show’s final episode aired, The Office remains one of the most popular sitcoms ever made. And now, to add to the other honors it’s received, we have at least one documented case of someone using an image from the show to attempt unemployment fraud. A picture of Jim Halpert. Yeah, it’s weird.
Reports trickled out on Thursday from a Michigan state legislature meeting that someone, for reasons no one seems to understand, tried to use a picture of John Krasinski on a driver’s license in order to obtain unemployment benefits. In a virtual hearing that was described as “testy” by reporters who witnessed it, Michigan’s House Oversight Committee interviewed Liza Estlund Olson, the acting head of the state Unemployment Insurance Agency, who testified about mounting issues with the state’s services amid a pandemic.
Though it was not one of the reasons the hearing was called in the first place, Olson wanted to show off some of the difficulties her department has dealt with in recent months as unemployment skyrocketed amid the pandemic. Which is how the world now has the actual image of a Michigan license with Jim from The Office on it.
Someone photoshopped a picture of John Krasinski, aka Jim from The Office, on a Michigan driver’s license to try and fraudulently obtain jobless benefits, acting state UIA Director Liza Estlund Olson told lawmakers this morning. pic.twitter.com/ALhZ6HxYyO
— Jonathan Oosting (@jonathanoosting) March 11, 2021
According to the Detroit Metro Times, the photo that circulated is something that was actually caught by the unemployment office. Though no one really seems to understand what benefit would come from using a photo of Office Jim on a license in this case.
As confirmed by the Unemployment Insurance Agency on Thursday, a fake ID was submitted to Michigan’s unemployment department by a man who curiously swapped their ID photo for a photo of Halpert in an effort to attempt to fraudulently gain unemployment benefits.
OK — so it is unclear how photoshopping a photo of a fictional character onto a driver’s license would actually fool anyone, or why it would work, especially if the document contained the man’s real name, address, and other personal information.
And, of course, there’s always a quote from The Office to fit the situation.
— Mark S. Michaels (@TheMarkShannon) March 11, 2021
If anything, the incident would make some Office superfans wonder about the health of the Dunder Mifflin office amid a pandemic. One actor from the show has joked that he’s bringing the Buffalo office back, but if you believe claims out of Michigan, Jim just might be in between gigs.