Unemployment in California: EDD official talks fraudulent claims, busy phone lines, identity verification
KGO
Share:
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) A spokesperson for California s embattled Employment Development Department joined ABC7 s program Getting Answers on Thursday to discuss the problems millions of Californians are facing as they try to apply for benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fraudulent Claims
A state audit released last week revealed the EDD likely paid out at least $10 billion in fraudulent claims between March and December another hit to the troubled department.
Spokesperson Loree Levy addressed the millions of fraudulent claims that we re paid out citing organized crime rings and the treasure trove of information available from data breaches on the dark web.
Thursday, February 4, 2021 California Auditor’s Latest Report On EDD Systematic Issues / EDD Spokesperson, Lawmaker React To State Auditor’s Report / Navigating EDD Pitfalls
Listen to Full Show
The Employment Development Department office on Broadway in Sacramento.
Andrew Nixon / CapRadio
Mired with delays, fraud, staffing issues and mismanagement, the Employment Development Department is supposed to help Californians make ends meet during tough economic times. But the latest state auditor’s report paints a dismal picture of what’s going on behind the scenes at the EDD. Can it be fixed? The EDD joins us to talk about what’s in the report and what’s being done at the agency to speed up response time and efficiency.
It all started with the envelopes. First a few, then dozens, and eventually in one instance more than a thousand envelopes at a time filling up mailboxes all across California. The envelopes all had return addresses for one of several divisions of California's Employment Development Department, or EDD. The addresses were all correct, but the names on the envelopes were not the people who lived there. Sign up for our Newsletters These were.
Audit: Millions may have to repay California jobless aid napavalleyregister.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from napavalleyregister.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New charges were announced Monday against six inmates and four others involved in scamming California unemployment benefits.
In addition to the 10% of benefits confirmed to involve fraud, the state is investigating another 17% of benefits involving suspicious claims that have not yet been proven to be fraudulent about $19 billion worth.
Officials said a large number of those claims could end up being fraudulent as well.
Su said part of the blame goes to the Trump administration, which she said failed to provide adequate guidance and resources to California to counter fraudulent claims, almost all of which were filed through a new federal program that provides unemployment benefits to gig workers, independent contractors and the self-employed.