Excerpted from KCRA3
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The assembly passed bills on Wednesday addressing reform of the state's troubled Employment Development Department.
Assembly Bill 110 would require that EDD cross-reference records of those incarcerated with the unemployment records and applications.
After a KCRA 3 investigation revealed the rampant fraud being perpetrated against the state's unemployment department, district attorneys across the state started their own investigation.
They found in 2020 that every single jail and prison had at least one inmate's name used for unemployment benefits.
Some were inmates or family members of inmates -- and some inmates were victims of identity theft themselves.
EDD has said the amount of fraud the agency paid out is anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billion -- all of it federal money distributed by the department.
This bill, fronted by assembly member Cottie Petrie-Norris, now moves to the Senate.