Newsom flatly rejects the suggestion that politics have played a role in his pandemic decisions and has not publicly acknowledged the recall effort even as he shifts to campaign-style events in major media markets across the state.The Labor Department inspector general’s office estimates that more than $63 billion has been paid out improperly through fraud or errors — roughly 10% of the total amount paid under pandemic-related unemployment programs since March.
The nationwide fraud has fed on twin vulnerabilities: a flood of jobless benefit applications since the pandemic began that has overwhelmed state unemployment agencies, and antiquated benefit systems that are easy prey for crafty and persistent criminals. Scams have been so widespread that the U.S. Department of Justice is setting aside money to hire more prosecutors. In New York alone, the Department of Labor says it has referred “hundreds of thousands of fraud cases” to federal prosecutors. The state says it has blocked $5.5 billion in fraudulent claims, while New Jersey says it’s prevented $2.5 billion from flowing into the hands of criminals.
The biggest chunk of that, $3.5 billion, came through claims that used the same Social Security numbers in multiple states. One number was used on claims in 40 states. Twenty-nine of the states paid those claims, totaling more than $220,000. “I had no idea what was happening,” said Heidtke, who works as an administrative assistant for an engineering lobbying organization. “I kind of just thought it was spam at first.”
One problem after another.
Annnnd I am still not approved for an extension. Waiting since mid-Dec. Isn’t life grand?
this is terrible news
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