California officials blasted the Trump administration’s plans to launch a full-sale investigation intounemployment 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.”
Get the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.
The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment on California’s stance on the pending probe.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
