Audit: ‘Significant missteps’ by California unemployment agency led it to pay billions in fraudulent jobless claims

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An audit of California’s unemployment benefits agency found the state has likely paid $10.4 billion in fraudulent benefits during the pandemic. California State Auditor Elaine Howle says that number is likely to grow in the coming months. Howle said the agency was slow to react to warnings of an increase in fraudulent claims. The audit released Thursday found the agency knew about hundreds of thousands of claims associated with suspicious addresses. Yet it did nothing to stop payments of those claims. The audit also found the agency paid $810 million in benefits in the names of prison inmates.