Fraud concerns over California's unemployment benefits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Concerns are growing about possible widespread fraud in California’s unemployment system following numerous reports of people receiving unsolicited letters, some with debit cards, from the state's jobless agency, and a suspicious number of claims involving independent contractors.

The California Employment Development Department has paid a staggering $76.9 billion in unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic, processing more than 11.9 million claims, most the result of Gov. Gavin Newsom's decision to shut down much of the economy to slow the spread of the disease.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that California had processed more than 405,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims last week, accounting for more than half of all such claims nationally. Congress authorized the program earlier this year to help people not normally eligible to receive unemployment benefits, including independent contractors.

Michael Bernick, former director of the Employment Development Department and now an attorney at the Duane Morris law firm, called that a “ridiculously high percentage.”

“This may be the potential fraud given the very, very outsized — ridiculously outsized — number of claims filed in California,” he said.

In recent weeks, several reports have emerged of people receiving dozens of letters from the Employment Development Department that include the personal information of others.

David Robertson said his son applied for unemployment benefits at the end of April. His son got a letter in August saying he was entitled to $167 per week, he said. But when they called the agency to ask more questions, they found that the contact information on his son's account had been changed and more than $14,000 in...