SACRAMENTO (CBS SF / AP) – Governor Gavin Newsom’s government on Tuesday tapped a former federal attorney to help investigate billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment benefits paid by the state during the shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Employment Development Department and Fraud Task Force of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services have appointed McGregor W. Scott as “Special Adviser on Fraud.” Authorities said Scott will work with law enforcement to fight fraud and prosecute anyone accused of offending the government.

CONTINUE READING: 3 Indicted in the Northern California prison-based EDD fraud system

Scott was the US Attorney for the Eastern District of California under former Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The district spans 34 counties from the Oregon border to Bakersfield in the Central Valley.

While US attorney Scott and several district attorneys revealed that the state had approved hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits on behalf of prison inmates, including some convicted murderers on death row.

“The state unemployment systems were attacked by sophisticated international and national organized fraud systems last year,” said Scott. “We look forward to working with EDD, Cal OES, and local, state and federal attorneys to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who stole benefits that rightly belonged in the pockets of Californians in need.”

CONTINUE READING: California EDD now requires proof of job search in order to receive unemployment benefits

California was overwhelmed by jobless claims during the coronavirus pandemic after Newsom issued the first nationwide home stay order that forced many businesses to close. As of March 2020, more than 23 million applications have been made, with the state paying $ 158 billion in benefits.

But at least $ 11 billion of that money was fraudulent, state officials said earlier this year. The state has classified an additional $ 20 billion in services as “suspicious” but has not yet said how many of these services were fraudulent.

The employment development department has put in place safeguards to help detect fraud and identity theft, including using a new identity verification tool and matching claims against Thompson Reuters law enforcement databases, the department said in a statement.

MORE NEWS: UPDATE: State Requiring Proof of Job Seeker for Unemployment Benefit; How will EDD enforce it?

“McGregor Scott has led numerous large-scale criminal investigations in his many years as a prosecutor and federal attorney – an experience that will help put criminals behind bars for defrauding the system,” said Rita Saenz, director of the division Employment development.

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