In September, we noted how California saw a staggering 72% decline in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications after the state started cracking down on suspected scammers.
Yet despite the state’s efforts, Bank of America on Monday estimated that fraud in California’s unemployment benefits system could total $2 billion across 640,000 accounts which have exhibited suspicious activity, and which should be investigated according to the LA Times – which adds that this is “the highest estimate of fraud yet in a system that has paid $110 billion since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a wave of joblessness in California beginning in March.”
Red flags include claims filed in the names of infants, children and centenarians – along with people living in other states, according to a bank official.
Fraudsters typically apply for unemployment debit cards under false pretenses, then immediately withdraw the funds via ATMs as soon as they hit the accounts, officials told Patch.com in September.
“Due to the pandemic, we have seen a dramatic increase in unemployment fraud through EDD,” the Torrance Police Department told Patch, adding that they saw an increase in EDD debit-card scams in September.
“It is outrageous,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “We understand that there was an effort to push as much money into the economy as possible but there has got to be some controls. Here it is like they have opened up a bag of cash in the middle of a tornado and hoped that it ends up someplace where it is supposed to be.” – READ MORE
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