SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has recovered $1.1 billion in fraudulent payments from federal COVID relief programs, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Tuesday.
The funds were found on approximately 780,000 inactivated benefit cards. Most of the money belongs to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA), the primary target of fraud nationwide, according to a statement from Newsom’s office.
EDD is responsible for processing unemployment claims, as well as disability insurance and paid family leave claims. During the pandemic, the agency was overwhelmed with unemployment applications, resulting in many fraudulent payments going out.
