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The Trump administration is mounting a crackdown on the misuse of taxpayer money. The state’s top prosecutor criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his lack of understanding, calling him a “fraud king.”
“California has spent $24 billion over the last five years on homelessness, and no one can explain where that money really went,” First U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”
In April, Essayli launched a task force to investigate corruption in California, focusing on homeless services. The task force has already led to the arrest of two men accused of using housing projects to exploit the government’s homelessness program for profit.
Essayli said those cases, involving millions of dollars in alleged fraud, are “just a topic.”
COMER VOWS MINNESOTA’S CORRUPTION UNIT WILL EXPAND COUNTRIES AMID CONTINUING CRASH
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., looks on during a bill signing ceremony related to the redrawing of state federal maps on Aug. 21, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif.
“We were already charging millions of dollars for fraud,” he said.
“I can tell you more cases coming up, probably as soon as this month.”
He accused Newsom and California’s Democratic leadership of allowing fraud to continue in state-run programs without oversight or accountability.
FRAUD CRIMES IN MINNESOTA, EXPLAINED: HOW HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS ARE ALLEGED THROUGH GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.
California’s scrutiny comes as other Democrat-led states face similar investigations into benefits programs. In Minnesota, federal authorities are investigating allegations of widespread fraud involving child care and other social services.
A person walks through piles of trash at a homeless shelter near East 14th Street on September 25, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles, Calif.
President Donald Trump weighed in on Social Truth, suggesting that California may be “more corrupt” than Minnesota.
“The California fraud investigation has begun,” he wrote Tuesday.
MAMNITUDE ‘CAN’T DO MORE’: FEDS SAYS MINNESOTA CONSULTANCY COULD BE OVER $9B
Newsom’s press office denied the allegations, writing in X that the governor “stopped more than $125 BILLION in fraud, arrested the criminal parasites who fleeced taxpayers, and protected taxpayers from the very kind of fraud that Trump celebrates, excuses and amnesty.”
Vice President JD Vance also criticized California’s welfare policies, accusing the state of providing benefits regardless of immigration status. Speaking to Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Vance said California openly advertises using taxpayer money to provide Medicaid to illegal immigrants.
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“California, more than any other state, has been clear and transparent about the fact that it provides welfare benefits to illegal aliens,” Vance said.
“They are getting rich because of the generosity of the American taxpayer. The political corruption that does that has to stop,” he added.
