COVID Unemployment
Updated
Published
January 25, 2021 3:44 PM
A staffer works to process claims at California s unemployment office, March 30, 2020. (California Employment Development Department)
California’s unemployment department says that as much as 27 percent of benefits paid out during the pandemic may have been fraudulent.
The new estimate comes on the heels of anti-fraud efforts that have left many Californians blocked from collecting payments.
Since March, California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) has paid out more than $114 billion in unemployment benefits. But in a press call on Monday, Labor Secretary Julie Su said a large chunk of that money has gone to criminals.