Reports

A California-licensed naturopathic doctor pleaded guilty today in the Northern District of California for scheming to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and for falsifying COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized Moderna vaccine.

A Lakewood man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for threatening to bomb Small Business Administration (SBA) offices and then, the following year, threatening to assault SBA employees in response to his inability to obtain COVID-19 emergency business loans.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19. He also admitted to stealing additional government funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Orange County man who fled after authorities searched his residence on Wednesday is in federal custody today after he was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border and charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $5 million in COVID-relief loans for three sham companies.

A former California Employment Development Department (EDD) employee was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison for causing nearly 200 fraudulent COVID-related unemployment relief claims to be filed in other people’s names, resulting in nearly $4.3 million in ill-gotten gains.

The objective of these assessments is to help the City prepare for state and federal audits of the City's use of emergency funding. The key to successfully withstanding any future audit will be the City's ability to provide sufficient documentation regarding the appropriate use of state and federal funds. The scope and methodology of these assessments includes pro-active and real-time assistance in complying with regulatory requirements, securing reimbursements, tracking disaster recovery costs, and evaluating whether funds are being used efficiently and effectively.

Three members of a San Fernando Valley family have been sentenced – two of them in absentia after they fled justice following their convictions at trial – to years in federal prison for scheming to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

Seven members of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring were sentenced for a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

A Santa Clarita Valley man was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for scheming to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s (Education) management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies (LEAs) respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that LEAs spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that California Department of Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that local educational agencies spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

A Sunland resident has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a $650,600 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Department of Justice announced today.

A West Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to federal charges stemming from a scheme that used a series of corporations he controlled to fraudulently obtain approximately $9 million in loans from COVID-relief programs, some of which he used on gambling excursions to Las Vegas and transferred to his stock trading accounts.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program, which received $316 million in federal funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic (ESG-CV) for individuals who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Th e following report details our conclusion that the department failed to expedite access to federal funding to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the homeless population.

A California man was arrested today in Los Angeles on criminal charges related to his alleged bank fraud, false statements in a loan application and money laundering arising from the submission of fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.

A California-licensed homeopathic doctor was arrested today for her alleged scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Moderna vaccine.

An Orange County man is expected to be arraigned in federal court today on an indictment charging him with defrauding victims who paid for COVID-related medical protective equipment that was never delivered, causing nearly $3 million in losses.

A California man was arrested Thursday on criminal charges related to his alleged scheming to submit fraudulent loan applications seeking millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

As authorized by state law, our office conducted a state high risk audit of the Department of Health Care Services’ (Health Care Services) management of federal funds related to the COVID-19 public health emergency that began in 2020. Health Care Services administers the Medi-Cal program, which received a significant increase in federal support to respond to the emergency. The following report details our conclusion that Health Care Services is not doing enough—notwithstanding the emergency—to resolve eligibility questions about Medi-Cal beneficiaries and avoid federal financial penalties...

The owner of trucking companies in the Inland Empire and elsewhere in California, who was out on bond awaiting trial in a separate federal criminal case, was arrested today on a criminal complaint alleging he fraudulently obtained more than $667,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

A federal jury has found four Los Angeles-area residents guilty of criminal charges for scheming to submit fraudulent loan applications seeking millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.

Three Inland Empire women have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges accusing them of using information belonging to other people – including California state prison inmates – to file for pandemic-related unemployment benefits, with each defendant causing at least $350,000 in losses.

The objective of these assessments is to help the City prepare for State and Federal audits of the City’s use of emergency funding. This includes pro-active and real-time assistance in complying with regulatory requirements, securing reimbursements, tracking disaster recovery costs, and evaluating whether funds are being used efficiently and effectively.

The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 14 defendants, including 11 newly-charged defendants and three who were charged in superseding indictments, in seven federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in over $143 million in false billings.

Two United States Postal Service (USPS) employees pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges accusing them of unlawfully buying and cashing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of Postal money orders with unemployment benefits fraudulently obtained with false claims of COVID-related job losses.

An Orange County man was arrested today on federal charges alleging he fraudulently obtained approximately $5 million in Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans for his sham businesses, then used the money on himself, including purchasing Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini sports cars.

Federal authorities this week arrested three Inland Empire residents on fraud charges alleging they used information belonging to California state prison inmates to file for pandemic-related unemployment benefits, with each causing at least $345,000 in losses.

A Riverside County woman was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in COVID-19-related unemployment benefits by using the stolen personal information of dozens of individuals obtained from the darknet.

We found that the State has met or exceeded targets for testing individuals for COVID‑19, but contact tracing throughout the State has lagged behind case surges that have far exceeded Public Health’s initial planning

A Santa Clarita Valley man pleaded guilty today to perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Federal authorities this morning arrested two employees of the U.S. Postal Service who allegedly abused their positions to purchase and cash Postal money orders with tens of thousands of dollars of unemployment benefits fraudulently obtained with false claims of COVID-related job losses.

A San Dimas man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge that he fraudulently obtained more than $500,000 in COVID-19-related unemployment benefits in the names of foreign nationals he falsely claimed were local real estate agents hit hard financially by the pandemic.

We conducted an audit of five local governments who play a key role in a Continuum of Care (CoC). Our assessment of CoC agencies—groups of organizations, including local government agencies and homeless service providers, that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to work toward ending homelessness within specified geographic areas—focused on best practices related to homeless services. In general, we determined that the State continues to struggle to coordinate its efforts to address homelessness, and CoCs do not always comply with federal regulations or...

A Santa Clarita Valley man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge that he fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for his sham companies by submitting fake tax documents and fraudulent employee information.

This letter report provides an update on our assessment of the State’s management of federal funds related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a high risk statewide issue.

This report concludes that the five courts we reviewed for this audit—the superior courts in Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, Orange, and San Bernardino counties—adhered to most of the required and recommended procurement and contracting practices that we evaluated, but they could improve in certain areas.

Since the surge in pandemic‑related California unemployment claims began in March 2020, individuals, news organizations, and law enforcement officials have reported many cases of potential and actual UI fraud. Not surprisingly, the pandemic conditions increased EDD’s UI workloads and also resulted in changes to federal UI benefit programs, both of which have created a greater risk of fraud.

The City of Sacramento will be subject to future audits of State and Federal funds, such as the Coronavirus Relief Fund or FEMA Public Assistance. These audits would likely be conducted by an Inspector General’s Office or the Government Accountability Office. The key to successfully withstanding any future audit will be the City’s ability to provide sufficient and appropriate documentation supporting the use of these funds.

We reviewed the allocation process and monitoring of emergency COVID-related service grants the City has made using funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of California. This preliminary review, the third in a series on emergency expenses,1 aims to support cost recovery oversight, including compliance with federal and state record-keeping, procurement, and audit requirements, as outlined in the Recovery Annex of the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.

The purpose of this document is to describe the general regulatory and internal control framework the City of Sacramento will operate under for the City’s COVID-19 response and all COVID-19 related activities. This document is an essential resource for the City as it identifies key COVID-19 regulatory and internal control information that can aid in maximizing the City’s eligibility for State and Federal resources. This document is a general guide for the City to use.

We recommend that the City Council accept the City Auditor’s preliminary review of documentation for COVID-19 related costs to support receipt of emergency public assistance through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF).

The objective of these assessments is to help the City prepare for State and Federal audits of the City’s use of emergency funding. This includes proactive and real-time assistance in complying with regulatory requirements, securing reimbursements, tracking disaster recovery costs, and evaluating whether funds are being used efficiently and effectively.

This letter report identifies 18 state agencies that will each be responsible for managing a portion of the federal COVID‑19 funds. Before finalizing our determination to add this issue to the state high risk list, we notified the 18 responsible state agencies about our preliminary determination and invited them to provide their perspective on the issue. We received responses from 12 of the 18 state agencies, and we summarize those responses at the end of this letter.

We recommend that the City Council accept the City Auditor’s interim report on the status of internal controls for documenting COVID-19 related costs to support receipt of emergency public assistance grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This special report provides information to assist Berkeley’s leaders in navigating the financial challenges ahead. We conducted interviews and reviewed data from government finance and budget officials to compile information on estimates of how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the local economy and Berkeley’s revenues and expenditures; and considerations from government finance and budget officials for the City Manager and Council to inform decisions about how to manage resources as revenues decline and expenditures increase.