Ep. 22 | California's Empire of Fraud

California's fraud problem is no longer a local story. Federal investigators are now pursuing thousands of cases tied to state-run programs, and Susan Crabtree has been on this story for months.   In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers detail the scope of what they call California's empire of fraud. They cover the DOJ's Never Say Die hospice fraud arrests, the collapse of the state's COVID-era unemployment insurance system, and the explosive growth of the In-Home Support Services program, a Medi-Cal sub-program now linked to widespread abuse. They also examine the political infrastructure that allowed the fraud to grow, including officials who were promoted rather than held accountable.   Crabtree previews her next area of investigation: the nonprofit networks she calls the immigration industrial complex, which channels more than a billion dollars toward shielding illegal immigrants, including convicted felons, from deportation.   This episode offers a detailed, sourced look at how California's governing failures have reached a national scale.   Follow on X!   @susancrabtree @Eric_Eggers @Govt_Acct_Inst   Watch full episodes of On Background with Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers on the Government Accountability Institute YouTube channel.   Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/@Govt_Acct_Inst