{"id":484943,"date":"2026-01-21T05:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=484943"},"modified":"2026-01-20T19:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T03:53:25","slug":"california-welfare-fraud-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/politics\/2026\/01\/california-welfare-fraud-improvement\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom touts gains against EBT theft as Trump presses blue states on benefits fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Low-income Californians once lost millions of dollars a month to fraudsters who raided their accounts for food assistance and other public benefits. Gov. Gavin Newsom is highlighting security improvements as the Trump administration accuses Democratic states of tolerating welfare fraud. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

Two years after a wave of public benefit thefts<\/a> that left low-income Californians scrambling to pay rent and afford food each month, Gov. Gavin Newsom is touting a significant decline in the reported amount stolen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thefts still amounted to more than $4 million a month last fall in both the CalFresh food assistance and CalWorks cash welfare benefits programs, according to a press release from Newsom\u2019s office. That\u2019s down from two years ago<\/a>, when public benefits recipients were reporting $20 million a month stolen from their accounts. The state uses taxpayer money to reimburse victims when they report theft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom credited the reduction to the state\u2019s rollout of anti-fraud technology such as more secure electronic benefit (EBT) cards with electronic chips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn California, we\u2019re leading the way by turning innovation into action by stopping theft and ensuring benefits reach those who truly need them,\u201d he said in a press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom\u2019s office announced the improved theft numbers last week after the Trump administration<\/a> ramped up threats to California over allegations of fraud in public benefits. The president has used a wave of prosecutions<\/a> over social services fraud in Minnesota, some of it allegedly by immigrants, as a reason to send immigration agents to conduct aggressive raids in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month the Trump administration froze some federal social services funding to five Democratic-led states, including California. A judge halted the freeze<\/a>, which included funds for the CalWorks cash aid program, for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kind of fraud in which Newsom was touting reductions is not traditional \u201cwelfare fraud\u201d perpetrated by recipients of public benefits, but rather theft by a third party. Local social services officials have said<\/a> fraud by recipients is relatively uncommon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thieves have been taking advantage of California benefits recipients by using hidden \u201cskimming\u201d devices to steal card numbers from EBT cards loaded withCalFresh food assistance and CalWorks cash welfare benefits. They then duplicate the cards and drain them of cash<\/a> or make large purchases using CalFresh, before the recipients have a chance to spend their own benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California was particularly susceptible because of the size of the state\u2019s social safety net, with roughly 300,000 families receiving cash aid and 3 million receiving food assistance. CalMatters reported in 2023 that the state, previously focused on detecting fraud committed by recipients of the benefits, had also ignored warnings<\/a> and delayed a proposal to introduce chipped EBT cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic brought new benefits from the federal and state governments, such as boosted unemployment benefits and stimulus checks, thieves wielding card skimmers followed the money. EBT cards, which contained only a magnetic strip at the time, were among the most vulnerable to theft. Nearly 200 people have been charged across California in the EBT schemes, Newsom’s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2023 the state responded to the skimming crisis by issuing chipped EBT cards and introducing an app allowing recipients to freeze their EBT accounts to prevent withdrawals. Last year, Newsom said, the state began using a computer model to detect fraudulent withdrawals and forced resets of some CalWorks\u2019 recipients EBT card PINs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But local welfare fraud investigators said the Newsom\u2019s numbers paint too rosy a picture of the theft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregory Mahony, president of the California Welfare Fraud Investigators Association, said he believes the state\u2019s reported thefts are undercounted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures are based on how much the state reimburses county welfare departments each month to return victims\u2019 benefits. But some recipients don\u2019t bother making a report, or report months of thefts but only get some of the money reimbursed, Mahony said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticized the California Department of Social Services for dropping a requirement in 2023 that victims file police reports each time their benefits are stolen in order to get a reimbursement. That\u2019s hurt the state\u2019s tracking of theft and fraud, Mahony said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not a systemic victory,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cIt is a delayed and partial mitigation of a crisis long allowed to grow unchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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