California’s 19 Republican state assembly members recently jointly wrote a letter to Governor Newsom, calling for an immediate special session of the state legislature to address the widespread fraud issues within various departments of the state government and to recover the misappropriated public resources before the budget deadline this year.
In the letter released on the 15th, it was mentioned that State Attorney General Bonta recently arrested individuals involved in a major end-of-life care service fraud scheme, causing widespread concern about the prevalence of fraud and abuse within the state government. The public has the right to know if any warning signs were overlooked or ignored, and what reforms are needed to ensure proper oversight and accountability. They believe that convening a special session can prioritize addressing this issue.
On the 9th of this month, Bonta announced the dismantling of an end-of-life care fraud ring in Los Angeles, with law enforcement agencies executing search and arrest warrants at 12 locations simultaneously, resulting in charges against 21 individuals with a total amount of fraud reaching $267 million. During Bonta’s term (from April 2021 to present), the California Department of Justice has initiated investigations into 119 related criminal cases, leading to convictions in 51 cases.
In this case, suspects illegally obtained non-California residents’ identity information through the dark web, used it to enroll in the California health insurance exchange Covered California and join the Medi-Cal program. They acquired 14 end-of-life care facilities through straw owners to provide “end-of-life care” to the stolen identities.
Minority Leader of the Assembly Heath Flora expressed on social media on the same day, “Frankly, the latest announcement from the Attorney General is not proactive prevention but rather exposes how serious fraud in California has become.”
She pointed out that the issue is not limited to specific programs; areas such as high-speed rail projects, homeless assistance funds, and home healthcare services have serious vulnerabilities due to inadequate oversight and transparency, facing rigorous scrutiny.
Flora criticized the state government for severe lag in regulatory work, stating, “Californians have the right to know how much money has been lost, who is responsible for oversight, and what specific measures the government is taking to ensure such fraud scandals do not happen again.”
According to a recent report from City Journal, losses in California due to fraud in major government projects “could be at least $180 billion,” with the report based on audit results, public records, and past investigation data.
Assembly member Diane Dixon of the 72nd district mentioned that according to recent statistics, California has spent over $37 billion in taxpayer funds on housing and homeless projects since 2019, yet the homeless population continues to rise, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of these projects.
As of January 2025 data from the state government, California has a total of 187,000 homeless individuals, accounting for 28% of the national total, with 66% of them being unsheltered.
In the letter, lawmakers requested the convening of a special session to focus on addressing the following issues: 1) comprehensively identifying the extent of fraud and improper payments in various state projects; 2) evaluating current regulatory and enforcement mechanisms; 3) identifying weaknesses in accountability and internal control systems; 4) promoting reforms to strengthen regulatory functions and recover funds.
They believe that holding a special session can provide the proper platform for the legislature to directly hear reports from various departments, thereby effectively implementing reforms.