XPost: alt.fraud, alt.california, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: noreply@dirge.harmsk.com   
      
   California officials blasted the Trump administration’s plans to launch a   
   full-sale investigation into unemployment fraud as ”purely political” —   
   and blamed lost money on the feds.   
      
   The US Department of Labor intends to send a “strike team” to dig into   
   COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud involving California’s Employment Development   
   Department, The Post exclusively reported Wednesday.   
      
   California is believed to have lost as much as tens of billions of dollars   
   in fraudulent unemployment payouts.   
      
   Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the Biden administration “turned   
   a blind eye” to stolen money and vowed to fully examine the scope of theft   
   that occurred early in the pandemic.   
      
   “This ends now,” Chavez-DeRemer said.   
      
   EDD officials told The Post they have already taken numerous efforts to   
   combat fraud, launching more than 2,300 investigations and securing 670   
   convictions with the help of Fraud Special Counsel McGregor Scott, a   
   former US attorney.   
      
   “The Trump administration’s announcement today is purely political,” an   
   EDD spokesperson told The Post by email.   
      
   “The fraud referenced is the result of a program poorly designed by the   
   federal government, which created fraud at a nationwide scale.”   
      
   The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment on   
   California’s stance on the pending probe.   
      
   EDD officials said the National Association of State Workforce Agencies   
   and the National Governors Association both warned that unemployment   
   benefits programs were “hurriedly deployed” with no anti-fraud guidance,   
   collaboration or technical assistance from the federal government.   
      
   “This left states to fend for themselves against international criminal   
   organizations,” a spokesperson said.   
      
   “The issues from the pandemic are long over as the nationwide fraud   
   against the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program ended years   
   ago. It occurred because the federal program lacked the safeguards of   
   traditional state unemployment insurance.”   
      
   The feds intend to send investigators from the national and regional   
   office to root out more instances of fraud similar to work being done in   
   Minnesota, where officials believe up to $9 billion was stolen.   
      
   California received nearly $290 billion in relief funds during the   
   pandemic, and EDD was among the largest recipients.   
      
   State officials noted that its improper payment rate of 12.06% is slightly   
   lower than the national average of roughly 14%.   
      
   “We have many tools to prevent fraud, and hope the federal government   
   continues to back our aggressive fraud-fighting resources,” an EDD   
   spokesperson said. “We appreciate any support and cooperation in keeping   
   the fraud door shut.”   
      
   Conversation.   
      
   LoveCalifornia   
   12 hours ago   
      
   The California general fund needs to pay this money back to the Federal   
   government.  Currently, the employers are paying this money back based on   
   employment taxes paid on current employees.  They are penalizing the   
   employers for Gavin's misconduct.  Minnesota needs to pay back the federal   
   government for all the fraud that occurred during the Walz reign. It's not   
   political, it is the science of Math, Economics with the rule of law.   
      
   NYPOSTCENSORSME   
   12 hours ago   
      
   Nice try California...   
      
   Don't blame the federal government for YOUR failures to prevent FRAUD.   
      
   "Unemployment benefits are administered at the STATE LEVEL after receiving   
   funding from the federal government. The federal government provides a   
   portion of the funding for the unemployment insurance program, which is   
   then used to administer benefits at the state level. Each state has its   
   own rules and regulations for eligibility, benefit amounts, and payment   
   duration, which can vary significantly from one state to another. This   
   structure allows for flexibility in how the program is run, but it also   
   means that benefits and eligibility can differ depending on the state   
   where the worker was employed."   
      
   DesertBoomer   
   2 hours ago   
      
   So, CA officials are saying that it's the federal government's fault   
   because they they didn't provide safeguards against fraud.  The argument   
   being that without safeguards, fraud will naturally happen.  Lets apply   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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