Frustrated by EDD? Here's where you can go for help
State senators and assembly members have already become one of the few ways that unemployed people can get through to EDD. But does the typical Californian know that they can turn to their legislator for help?
California EDD can't freeze unemployment checks, must 'pay now' during eligibility investigations
As a result of a class action lawsuit, the EDD must now stop its policy of freezing benefits for people whose existing claims have eligibility questions and instead continue sending checks while they investigate the problem.
California inmates stole $1.4M in unemployment benefits, feds say
Federal officials said the two inmates worked from their respective correctional facilities at Kern Valley State Prison and California Correctional Institute in coordination with someone on the outside to submit false unemployment claims.
Louisiana residents took $1M in COVID funds from California
More than 100 false claims to California’s Employment Development Department netted $1 million for eight people, and five of them also got more than $60,000 that they weren’t due from the Louisiana Workforce Commission, officials said.
Ex-Aryan Brotherhood leader charged with California EDD fraud
Prosecutors allege that the men, who had met in prison, bilked mainly homeless people or transients who were living off Social Security or disability payments by pretending to counsel them.
EDD fraud: 2 USPS employees in LA accused of stealing hundreds of thousands in unemployment benefits
Two USPS employees, Christian Jeremyah James and Armand Caleb Legardy, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to federal criminal charges accusing them of unlawfully buying and cashing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of postal money orders with unemployment benefits fraudulently obtained with false claims of COVID-related job losses.
52 weeks into EDD unemployment benefits: Make sure you click ‘new claim’
EDD claimants are learning that when a year's worth of claims have been collected, they're terminated unless they jump through a bureaucratic hoop. EDD says it was just a glitch.
3 women charged with illegally obtaining over $1.2M in unemployment benefits in names of inmates
Three Inland Empire women were arrested and charged this week for illegally obtaining COVID-related unemployment benefits in names of prison inmates and scamming the California Employment Development Department out of a combined $1.2 million, federal prosecutors allege.
Incarcerated California woman, accomplice accused of stealing more than $100K in EDD benefits
Officials say the state has paid at least $11 billion in benefits to people whose identities it has been unable to verify, which they say is likely fraud. Of that, $810 million was tied to ineligible prisoners.
California auditor says EDD likely has paid out $10.4B in fraudulent claims so far
California State Auditor Elaine Howle said the agency was slow to react to warnings of an increase in fraudulent claims, saying this inaction cost the state billions as criminals exposed weaknesses in the system.
More than 800K California EDD claims paid out more than 21 days after filing: auditor
Auditor Elaine Howle told the governor that as a result, more than 800,000 people waited longer than 21 days—EDD's measure of how quickly it should process a claim—to receive their first benefit payments.
Criminal rings loot billions in California jobless funds
Criminal rings stole over $11 billion in unemployment benefits from California last year and nearly $20 billion more is considered suspicious.
California sees suspicious surge in unemployment claims
California is reporting a surge in coronavirus unemployment claims last week for independent contractors, gig workers and the self-employed — the category of benefits blamed for much of the state’s fraudulent payments.
California may have paid out-of-state inmates job benefits
More than $40 million in California funding intended to help people left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic probably went to inmates in out-of-state jails and prisons, officials said.
EDD fraud, theft on the rise during COVID-19 pandemic
As more Americans became unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic, EDD fraud and theft skyrocketed.
Pasadena man accused of buying Maserati with stolen CARES Act funds faces federal charges
An arraignment was scheduled Friday for a Pasadena man who faces federal charges after he allegedly used stolen identities to steal unemployment insurance benefits and then used the funds to purchase a Maserati SUV.
IRS warns of new COVID-related scam
The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry on Wednesday warned of a new text scam created by thieves that attempts to trick people into disclosing bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 Economic Impact Payment.
27 arrested for alleged unemployment benefits fraud in Torrance since Sept. 10
More than two dozen people have been arrested since Sept. 10 in Torrance for alleged unemployment benefits fraud and identity theft, police reported Wednesday.
Concerns over unemployment fraud prompts action in California
At least 350,000 debit cards filled with money for unemployment benefits in California have been frozen because of suspected fraud, state officials said, revealing how prevalent the problem has become now that the state has paid more than $105 billion in benefits since March.
Woman accused of stealing several identities to fraudulently obtain EDD unemployment benefits
A woman was arrested at a Riverside courthouse last week for allegedly stealing several identities to fraudulently obtain EDD unemployment benefits, authorities said Monday.