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The audit notes that in May 2020, the EDD was warned by the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General that California was likely to see at least $1.2 billion in potential fraud based on the 2.9 million new claims that the EDD had received in March and April 2020.
But some key anti-fraud systems were not put in place until September and October, months after the warning was issued.
The audit said it mishandled a problem that arose in September when Bank of America, which contracts to issue debit cards for the state, froze 344,000 debit cards on which unemployment benefits were paid out to claimants.
California officials in charge of the state’s unemployment benefits system failed for months to heed warnings of widespread claims fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in billions of dollars paid out on fraudulent claims, a state audit said Thursday.
The report by State Auditor Elain
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
California has been hit with massive unemployment benefit fraud with improper payments going to claims in the name of people including inmates on death row at San Quentin State Prison, shown in a file image. (Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
California failed to heed warnings of unemployment benefit fraud for months, audit says
SACRAMENTO California officials in charge of the state’s unemployment benefits system failed for months to heed warnings of widespread claims fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in billions of dollars paid out on fraudulent claims, a state audit said Thursday.
The report by State Auditor Elaine Howle said at least $10.4 billion in fraud has been identified on the first $112 billion in benefits paid since the pandemic began. But more claims have been paid since the audit was finalized – the number is now $114 billion – so officials of the state Employment Development Department said earlier this week they n
California’s Unemployment System Still Unfit a Year Later The state’s Employment Development Department is still flooded with unprocessed benefits claims, millions of dollars worth of fraudulent applications and decades-old problems that continue to slow the process. Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times | January 29, 2021 | Analysis
(TNS) Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, California s beleaguered unemployment benefits system remains mired in dysfunction, leaving many jobless workers in dire straits after their efforts to receive financial assistance have been stymied by jammed phone lines, overwhelmed staff and failed technology.
Millions of out-of-work Californians are still waiting for money they desperately need to feed and clothe their families and avoid ending up on the streets. Payments have instead gone to fulfill fraudulent claims filed in the names of prison inmates, infants, retirees and