Newsom accused of overseeing up to $280B in California fraud, report claims
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A journalist who claims California lost at least $180 billion to fraud joined “Will Cain Country” to share the findings of his expose, “Gavin Newsom’s Empire of Fraud.”
City Journal’s Chris Rufo co-wrote this article. He told host Will Cain on Tuesday that fraud in California comes from three main sources: Medi-Cal fraud, unemployment fraud and general welfare fraud.
Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference at San Lorenzo High School as he signs an executive order to expand women’s access to capital and wealth-building opportunities on March 18, 2026 in San Lorenzo, California. (Tayfun Coşkun/Anadolu)
“And if you put all of that together, experts in the Gavin Newsom administration and HHS officials estimate that California lost somewhere between $180 and $280 billion. That’s similar to the GDP of New Zealand. That’s a lot of money,” Rufo said.
He expressed frustration at the lack of accountability, adding that the scale of the problem was more than the federal government could handle with the resources currently allocated.
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“The ugly truth, and frankly a criticism of the federal government now under President Trump, is that if they want to deter fraud in the future, they are going to have to significantly increase those efforts,” Rufo said. he said.
He said he hopes to encourage additional action through his reporting, and that a big focus for him is California’s home care program.
The program aims to support people who cannot work because they have to provide full-time care for a loved one. But Rufo said it has become the most common business in the state.
Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that California could be the next focus of major federal fraud investigations, while claiming that fraud uncovered in the Minneapolis area could total at least $19 billion. (Tayfun Coşkun/Anadolu/Getty Images Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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“We pay about 800,000 people to stay at home or for care recipients to stay at home. And because it operates mainly on an honor system…everything is done on a private basis,” he said.
Thousands of tip reports on the issue led to hundreds of investigations and ultimately fewer than 100 prosecutions, Rufo said.
Rufo called it a “shadow welfare system” but said Californians are starting to smarten up on the scam.
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“I think California voters are looking around and saying, wait a minute, this is now 10% of our state budget. $30 billion a year,” he says. “What are we doing? Why are we paying for everything, everyone, including scammers, when the quality of life for middle-class working people in California is getting worse and worse?”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back on the notion that his administration isn’t proactive enough in going after fraudsters.
“This is complete nonsense from top to bottom,” a Newsom spokesperson told The New York Post. “California will continue to do its part to fight fraud, and we are asking the federal government to work with us to do the same.”
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The governor’s office has previously stated that they have been taking action on hospice fraud “for years.”
“I’m glad the federal government is finally stepping in to do its part,” they said of the actions of the federal anti-fraud task force in California, according to The Post. “The state has been taking action for years, including suspending more than 280 licenses and banning new licenses through 2022. The big question: Will Trump pardon any of them, as he has done with so many crooks before?”
