{"id":2572404,"date":"2026-02-22T12:21:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T17:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-sending-strike-team-to-california-to-root-out-states-insurance-program-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T17:24:06","slug":"trump-admin-sending-strike-team-to-california-to-root-out-states-insurance-program-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-sending-strike-team-to-california-to-root-out-states-insurance-program-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admin Sending &#8216;Strike Team&#8217; to California to Root Out State&#8217;s Insurance Program Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-admin-sending-strike-team-to-california-to-root-out-states-insurance-program-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572404&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal strike team is being deployed to California to investigate alleged fraud and improper payments in the state&#8217;s unemployment insurance program. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the inquiry will examine financial issues and potential fraud to protect workers and taxpayers and to restore the UI program\u2019s integrity and financial health. California\u2019s Employment Growth Department has faced repeated criticism from the Labor Department for poor performance, and a state auditor has labeled UI management a high\u2011risk agency.An auditor\u2019s report described missteps during the pandemic that led to billions of dollars in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-report-nearly-triples-estimated-amount-covid-fraudsters-stole-in-unemployment-benefits\/\" title=\"New ... triples estimated Covid ...sters&#039; unemployment benefit theft.\">potentially fraudulent unemployment benefits<\/a> and stated that EDD could not reliably quantify improper payments. California has borrowed about $21 billion from the federal government to shore up its UI system, contributing to higher UI taxes for state workers. The state reportedly received ample COVID relief funding,with figures cited from reports.Nationally, an inspector general warned that nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funds are at risk from COVID\u2011related UI fraud, noting large sums of unspent funds on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-rolling-ahead-with-taxpayer-funded-gas-cards-to-combat-rising-gas-prices-inflation\/\" title=\"Chicago Rolling Ahead With Taxpayer-Funded \u2018Gas Cards\u2019 To Combat Rising Gas Prices, Inflation\">prepaid debit cards<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A federal &ldquo;strike team&rdquo; is descending upon California amid fears that California&rsquo;s Unemployment Insurance program is mired in a swamp of fraud and improper payments.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Financial issues and potential fraud in California&rsquo;s unemployment insurance program will be fully examined. The previous administration turned a blind eye toward failing Labor programs: This ends now,&rdquo; Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a Labor Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/newsroom\/releases\/osec\/osec20260218\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Immediately, we are engaging a specialized strike team to uncover any potential fraud or abuse and quickly moving to protect the American worker and taxpayer,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I look forward to restoring the California UI program&rsquo;s integrity and financial health,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>California&rsquo;s Employment Development Department has been cited by the Labor Department for poor performance.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Further, California also has dipped into the UI trust fund, which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >holds state-collected payroll taxes<\/a> to pay the state portion of unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n<p>California has borrowed $21 billion from the federal government to keep its system afloat, which is triggering increased UI taxes for state workers.<\/p>\n<p>The California <a href=\"https:\/\/information.auditor.ca.gov\/pdfs\/reports\/2023-601.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">state auditor<\/a> ruled that the agency overseeing UI payments was a high-risk agency.<\/p>\n<p>A recent audit report said that &ldquo;EDD&rsquo;s fraud prevention approach during the<\/p>\n<p>pandemic was marked by significant missteps and inaction that led to billions of dollars in unemployment benefit payments that EDD later determined may have been fraudulent.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Further, we also reported that EDD has been unable to accurately quantify its inappropriate UI payments,&rdquo; the report said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;EDD is a high-risk agency because of its mismanagement of the UI program,&rdquo; the audit said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Specifically, EDD is unable to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-employment-department-listed-as-high-risk-by-state-auditor-after-losing-20-billion-to-fraud\/\" title=\"...&#039;s Employment Department labeled &#039;high ...&#039; by ... due to  billion lost to ....\">reliably estimate improper payments<\/a> under the UI program, thus adversely affecting the State&rsquo;s financial statements as well as impairing efforts to independently evaluate the efficacy of EDD&rsquo;s own fraud prevention activities,&rdquo; the auditor wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The report said &ldquo;Substantial Fraud Risk Exists in EDD&rsquo;s UI Program.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For example, the program did not block addresses used to file unusually high numbers of claims, and it removed a safeguard preventing payment to individuals who had unconfirmed identities,&rdquo; the report said.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the report said, the department &ldquo;allowed the payments of potentially fraudulent claims, estimated at tens of billions of dollars, most of which have yet to be recovered.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>California received about $290 billion in COVID relief, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/labor-dept-deploys-strike-team-california-21b-unemployment-debt-fraud-concerns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Inspector General Anthony D&rsquo;Esposito said nationally, he nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funds is &ldquo;at risk&rdquo; nationwide due to COVID-related UI fraud, noting that prepaid debit cards issued to be used for pandemic-era UI benefits had $720 million unspent on them.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My office has warned that, absent swift action, U.S. taxpayers risk losing nearly a billion dollars in fraudulently obtained benefits,&rdquo; D&rsquo;Esposito said in a statement. &ldquo;This is taxpayer money &mdash; and it demands immediate attention.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the article\u2019s main points (excluding the unrelated code and \u201cRead more\u201d junk):<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A federal strike team is moving into California to investigate alleged fraud and improper payments in the state\u2019s Unemployment Insurance program. The goal is to uncover fraud quickly, protect workers and taxpayers, and restore the program\u2019s financial health after concerns that previous administrations ignored problems.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; California\u2019s UI efforts have been criticized by the Labor Department for poor performance. The state has relied on the federal UI trust fund and has borrowed around $21 billion to keep benefits flowing, which is driving higher UI taxes for state workers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The state auditor labeled the Employment Development Department (EDD) a high-risk agency, citing missteps during the pandemic that led to billions of potentially fraudulent unemployment payments. The audit also said EDD cannot reliably quantify improper UI payments, undermining the state\u2019s financial statements and its ability to evaluate fraud prevention.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Specific failures noted include not blocking addresses tied to unusually high claim activity and removing safeguards against payments to individuals with unconfirmed identities. As a result, the report suggests tens of billions of dollars in potentially fraudulent payments may have been issued and many remain unrecovered.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Nationally, Inspector General Anthony D\u2019Esposito warned that nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funds are at risk from COVID-era UI fraud, highlighting that $720 million in prepaid debit cards for pandemic UI benefits remain unspent. He called for urgent action to protect taxpayers\u2019 money.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like, I can tailor this paraphrase to a different length or focus on particular details<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2572405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-724.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[4045,74316,74318,74317,46512],"class_list":["post-2572404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-insurancefraud","tag-stateinsuranceprogram","tag-striketeam","tag-trumpadministration"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-724.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572404"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572408,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572404\/revisions\/2572408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}