Officials in California say criminals stole over $11 billion in unemployment benefits last year. But that amount could grow far larger as billions more in payments are investigated. California Labor Secretary Julie Su told reporters recently that the state paid about $114 billion in unemployment claims in 2020. Of that amount, about 10 percent, or $11.4 billion, was confirmed to have been fraud. Fraud is the crime of using dishonest methods, such as using a false identity, to take something valuable. Su said nearly $20 billion more, another 17 percent, is considered suspicious. A large part of that money could also have been fraud. Su said California did not have the correct security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.
Title: Criminals Steal Billions in California Unemployment Payments
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/A.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Criminals Steal Billions in California Unemployment Payments' data-article-id='5356'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10958'>Officials in California say criminals stole over $11 billion in unemployment benefits last year.</span> <span data-start-time='10958' data-end-time='19792'> But that amount could grow far larger as billions more in payments are investigated.</span> <span data-start-time='19792' data-end-time='36104'>California Labor Secretary Julie Su told reporters recently that the state paid about $114 billion in unemployment claims in 2020.</span> <span data-start-time='36104' data-end-time='48021'>Of that amount, about 10 percent, or $11.4 billion, was confirmed to have been fraud.</span> <span data-start-time='48021' data-end-time='58563'>Fraud is the crime of using dishonest methods, such as using a false identity, to take something valuable.</span> <span data-start-time='58563' data-end-time='67792'>Su said nearly $20 billion more, another 17 percent, is considered suspicious.</span> <span data-start-time='67792' data-end-time='73125'>A large part of that money could also have been fraud.</span> <span data-start-time='73125' data-end-time='87667'>Su said California did not have the correct security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/A.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=16704 data-hint-location='48021' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/what_is_fraud.wav'>What is fraud?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a crime of deception to take something valuable'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/assault_and_battery.wav'><span>assault and battery</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/a_crime_of_deception_to_take_something_valuable.wav'><span>a crime of deception to take something valuable</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/kidnapping.wav'><span>kidnapping</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/a_misdemeanor_involving_littering.wav'><span>a misdemeanor involving littering</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=16705 data-hint-location='73125' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/how_did_this_unemployment_fraud_occur.wav'>How did this unemployment fraud occur?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='correct security measures were not in place'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/there_were_strict_security_measures_in_place.wav'><span>there were strict security measures in place</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/there_was_too_much_money_available.wav'><span>there was too much money available</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/correct_security_measures_were_not_in_place.wav'><span>correct security measures were not in place</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/politicians_were_fundraising.wav'><span>politicians were fundraising</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=16706 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/criminals_stole_over_11_billion_dollars_in_unemployment_benefits_last_year_in__blank_.wav'>Criminals stole over 11 billion dollars in unemployment benefits last year in <span class='blank'>California</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='California'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/california.wav'><span>California</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/new_york.wav'><span>New York</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/colorado.wav'><span>Colorado</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4831/connecticut.wav'><span>Connecticut</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button 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