CBS News
Crackdown on unemployment fraud in California is complete disaster for some with legitimate claims
Now, many jobless Californians with legitimate claims are struggling to get their money.
Gonzalo Arceo cares for his 14-year-old daughter Emily, who has disabilities. I m her voice. I m her legs because she doesn t walk. I m her legs, he told CBS This Morning consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner.
But in March, his construction work dried up due to the coronavirus.
He got unemployment benefits from the Employment Development Department. California pays that money in the form of Bank of America debit cards, but at the end of June, Arceo saw purchases he says he didn t make. One was at a store in Canada, and another was a large withdrawal.
UPDATE: California EDD, Bank of America At Odds Over Resolving Fraud Victims’ Claims
CBS SF Bay Area 1/13/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) Despite assurances from California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) and Bank of America that they are working together to fight fraud, emails between EDD and Bank of America obtained by KPIX 5 show the two are not on the same page.
“In the last week I’ve taken about 250 of these calls,” said an EDD call center employee who spoke to KPIX 5 after seeing our reports about the brazen hacks of EDD debit cards.
We exposed how hackers are stealing identities of EDD claimants on the dark web, duplicating their cards and security pins, then stealing thousands of dollars in cash at ATMs far away from where the victims live. “I am having claimants that have had their debit cards used in New York, Vegas,” said the EDD employee, who chose to remain anonymous.