bay area thisc 7 ns. th "getting answers." asking your questions to experts every day at 3:00 to get answers in realtime. today we have lori leavy with the e.d.d. with us. let's listen to the story what's been happening with folks trying to collect unemployment in california. >>nouses received mail from e.d.d. addressed to complete strangers. >> i wonder what the mail man thought. >> it turned out fraud sisters were using addresses to file phoney claims. all tried to report the claims to the e.d.d. but the audit says e.d.d. didn't notice the pattern until

september, months into the pandemic. >> we now have twoo two audits that i think demonstrate that e.d.d. was in fact a rat's nest of incompetence. they brought the fraud on. >> the e.d.d. finally shut down 344,000 suspicious accounts. th legitimate workers into the crackdown. including nick's son ben. >> i went to pay my cell phone bill and found out my card was declined. >> the auditor also found that e.d.d. in a rush to pay claims as spring and summer failed to verify eligibility and identities for millions of clmsopening the to fraud. if also failed to cross check claims with the department of corrections appear jail inmates were filing phoney claims behind bars, collecting at least $$810 million in benefits. >> e.d.d. was so overwhelmed they didn't have check and balance system to try and catch this type of a fraud. >> the report says e.d.d. had

only two staffers assigned to manually inspect reports of suspected fraud to correct problems they froze thousands o timate claims into the mix leaving workers with no income. fronts, lots of fraud and lots of people not getting legitimate benefits. the system needs to be rebuilt. >> the e.d.d. says the trump administration is partly responsible for failing to offer support for fraud prevention. i've posted e.d.d.'s full response on our website. >> i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> lots of problems. joining to talk about this from the e.d.d. is spokeswoman lori leavy who had been on the show many times before. lori, i just want to start by saying, i know it can't be easy to come on when you know it's bad news for a lot of people. and people are angry.

but their concerns need to be addressed. it's been hard for people. we're doing as much as we can in the next half hour. how does that sound? >> sounds good. my pleasure to be with you here today. >> well, let's first talk about what happened yesterday. stateke this big at michael finney's story soota addressed, found dons of problems and this is what one said, right? the californians are frustrated, unfutured, fed up. they want a system that works for them. do you acknowledge that right now, even now after you tried to have the fixes to the fraudulent claims, the id system it's not working for millions of californians? >> actually, no, i wouldn't fully agree with that. and let me tell you why. you know, obviously i think what's happened here is we've had at very, very unusual situation where you've got organized crime rings both at the domestic and international level sitting on

trove of stolen person identification off the dark westbound stemming with the data breeches and corporate world. the unscrupulous stamers were waiting to pounce on systems across the country in the way we've never seen before. prior to this the major form of fraud was someone going back to work and collect benefits and not properly telling e.d.d. as required. you know, unfortunately it's something that really came hand in hand with the brand-new federal pandemic unemployment assistance program where we see 95% of the confirmed fraud. that spike occurred in august. and every action we have taken since then we believe is continuing to fortify the front door on fraud. we want to get away from spending so much time on that and really dedicate to those individuals who really need our assistance, the hard working californians out there. moving forward, i think with the partnerships in place, the tools that we have, a lot of other changes happening here we're

going to be well positioned moving into 2021 to better protect the program and better serve californians. >> all right. before we jump into the questions which are pouring in right now, real quickly, how big 11 billion determined thatou tha went to fraud sisters. but the problem could be bigger than that by the tune of some $20 billion additional dollars? what do you have? >> well, again, like i said, i think 95% of the fraud we find is in the pandemic unemployment assistance program. the great thing is it was there to assist brand-new for state's to implement. it doesn't match up the normal sayings that we can cross cross-match with employer rage records. these are self-employed individuals. that's where there is a vulnerability as the u.s. department of labor indicated in that program. pivrpg as we address things, closing some of the front door problems on that, that is going

to move forward as we move forward. it's an important benefit to have for them and we want to make sure it's as solidfied as possible. >> to stem the tide of fraud you froze accounts, 1.4 pl million million. many people are unable to verify identities using id me. due to technical issues or don't have the latest compatible devices. and can't reach anybody at the e.d.d. for help. how can they get their money, lori. >> there is a couple of things all happening at the same time. i understand why that leads to so much confusion for individuals and so much frustration. we do truly understand that. and we're all working stroedly hard to change that tide. id me is putting at the front door really helps us take away the manual work involved in vvrpg identity when something doesn't match up with the cross-match with the social security administration. now id me does add staff in a

video chat. if there are technical challenges they have the trusted referee video chat option that helps individual kind of get through that process with some assistance. and we find about at least 88% of people are getting through that process. so far some suspended claims that happened at the end of the year as we look back at existing claims we've gotten about maybe over 350,000 that have come through id me, come back to us and we've been able to process and continue payment if meet eligibility requirements in this insurance program. >> we have some viewers here who said they did get verified. but they still don't have benefits weeks later. so what is the actual wait time? >> well, it has been seven to ten days. and checking even just this morning i can tell you it sounds like that those that have been verified through id me in this dedicated 1.1 million category

that went over and directed to id me has come through. so about 350,000 of those have come through verified. and we have been able to catch up and process those, remove that obstacle to payment with the verification and move on to payment where they meet eligibility requirements. >> all right. thank you so much for that, lori. kerry wants to know why do i only get paid for owed work share payments for two weeks at a time? wouldn't be faster to pay off all the paperwork at once? >> oh, i gotcha. unfortunately this is an insurance problem, very much like your life insurance or car insurance. there is a lot of rules and regulations associated with that. believe me we'd love to have more ease built into the system. that's the way the law requires you have to certify your eligibility every two weeks. it's an ongoing program. you have to certify eligibility for payment and you got to continue to do so every two weeks in order to get the next payment. >> all right. here we have a question from nicole who saz i've been locked out of receiving my benefits.

the folks that we were talking, since december 20th. i've uploaded my identity verification, still nothing. they tell me it should be but it isn't. what do you have to say to nicole? >> i'm very sorry, nicole for any issues you are experiencing. again, from what i'm understanding, it should be 7 to ten days from the time we goat that validation through id me back at e.d.d. that is occurring. i know i've been checking up on that. and so if indeed there is any delay it could have something to do -- and again not looking at that claim. but if you are seeing something that says pending on your u.i. online account it could well mean that we are having to look into another eligibility issue, because there are certain things on that biweekly certification that people have to respond to. you have to be able to accept work if offered for example. i think that does send to kind of confuse people sometimes. so there could be something else

at play there, nicole. i certainly do hope it gets resolved for you very, very quickly. >> here are a couple of questions with regard to id me. angel says online vchks pro is not accurate for her she says i uploaded my california california driver's license, sfv and social security card and it would not approve me. >> you know, i'm glad you asked that question, because we are getting some kuchgs. in fact we're trying to get together a news release -- we get one out every week with latest individuals for and put it out in the social media world appear everything else. we are clavrpg some good tips for people in id me. one is making sure you have a readable photo, make sure you use the right documents, that it's matching up with the information that you have on record with the social security administration and dmv. so we do have some information on the website on that, some really good tips we provided. and we really hope people can access that. because it should be very, very helpful to them. >> okay, lori, maria from san

francisco she has a situation where a scammer used her id. and she tried to go through the id me process to verify. after completing the scanning of my face i got the apply that verification is impossible due to a duplicating account. she says, feels like hell. please help. >> again, i'm so very, very sorry to hear about the challenges. it's not what we want for individuals what so far. we are continuing to work with id me. and i say that if given all those tips i really hope people avail themselves of those. i think that can hopefully streamline the process for people. it's meant to be there to simplify things and help us get to a point where we can automatically process claims in a fastest and efficient manner. you know, unfortunately i don't know the specific issues of what i can say on her claim in specific. but there really some good tips available that i hope that will make a difference. >> all right, lori thank you so much. a lot more questions to get to.

we'll answer some of the

and we are back talking with lori leavy from the e.d.d. to answer your questions with regard to benefits. lori, you know, here is another question from one of our viewers asking, does anybody know if they send you a new e.d.d. debit card once they verify your id on unfreeze your account or do they just reactivate the old e.d.d. card that was frozen. >> i wish there was one easy answer for that. it depends on the situation. certainly -- there are parallel situations going on here. there is a lot of unscrupulous many scammers, the organized crime rings have been just assaulting systems across the country. so the banking side, bank of

america is looking at fraudulent activity on the banking front. on our side, often times it has to do with identity. so i think it all kind of depends on what your situation is. if we can't get your card unfrozen. if we validated to you, then we can issue a check. and that does occur. but it really kind of all depends on someone's circumstances. >> okay. mary elena rojas says what happens if you went back to work and were still collecting unemployment for months and on top of that getting family leave? >> so, in other words collecting unemployment benefits and family leave at the same time? >> and sounds like she went back to work as well. >> yeah, those things have to be reported to e.d.d. that biweekly certification form that i was talking about. if you do go back to work or have any earnings at all you have to report it on the biweekly certification. and that has to be deductioned from the benefit amount. if not reported properly it

could be an overpayment which the individual would be responsible for paying back. make sure you read the resources about how to certify properly so we can help you avoid that. >> okay. and alex mendoza has a related question. are we going to have to pay back the unemployment when we do our taxes? >> well, there's -- that's a very good question. i think a lot of people -- so many people on unemployment never been there before. this has been a very confuseding process. unemployment benefits of all kinds, including those extra federal stimulus dollars we were adding to benefits earlier in the pandemic and are once again now with the loss -- did so with the lost wage willings assistance. that's all taxable at the federal level. so not at the state level at the federal level. and you will receive a 1099 if you haven't already done sew, a form 1099-g which tells you this is what we have on record as what you have collected in benefits for the prior year. and you use that to report your taxes and file your taxes. if there are any issues where

you think somebody may have applied in your name, and this isn't you, we have set up a contact center peskly fspecific that purpose. we have all that information on our website, some really good resources to help people through that 1099-g process. i encourage you to make yourself available of that information, it's going to be very helpful >> yeah, i want toe deep they are the 1099 forms, right? people are getting them for e.d.d. benefits that they never got that the scammers got, of course using their id. here are some questions about, you know, what should they do? they're trying to get the corrected form. but e.d.d. has only one phone line that's always busy. the online form has no information, is what i'm seeing. what should people do? >> well it all kind of depends. right now most of the question we he get is where is the 1099 and available on the uim online account. we are trying to suppress what we know to be identity theft in

terms of 1099 going out in terms of investigations. but if indeed someone receives something, a 1099-g that doesn't belong to them we have the designated phone line and we have added additional 300 staff -- to assist with that over 300 staff to available on that line. however we also add e.d.d. online option for doing the same thing. you'll have another option to provide the information so we can investigate it, make sure you are who you say you are. and if so we'll clear that from your record and get you an amended form. >> but people are confused about whether to report the income even if they got the 1099, what did they tell the irs. people are worried about being penalized by the irs. >> no, i mean, at this point in time we have coordinated with the irs. they know they were getting due to the volume lots of states are getting 1099-gs out a little bit into february even. it's information that you need to file your taxes come tax day

in april. and that is information that we are going to continue to provide assistance on as we go. and i think even additional assistance going on. and we're continuing to try to work also with some community-based organizations and get out a good tool kit to assist people. we want to get this information in the hands of all these who need it. so more information to come continually as we move along. >> and a belfry z says her daut had to open the claim three times. she has done the id vchgs swrsks. but nothing happened and she has pending payments back to december. what advice did you give to ana bell. >> i'm afraid i don't have access to your account i'm not sure what issue might be involved there. it all depends on probably what notices or emails or text messages you have received from e.d.d. i would encourage you to look for that look on the uim online

account, hopefully you have one. and that should be helpful. and that provide guidance specific to you. and hopefully that's helpful for you. >> okay, john says i'd like to know when i did can get my bifurcates. i was out of work in 2000 and apparently had a password which i no longer remember and can't get into the site to apply now. >> and i'm not quite sure what he is referring to. has he not been working since 2000? or. >> unfortunately i don't have additional information. but it sounds like a password issue, not being able to enter the site. >> well, if it's been from 2000 it sounds like you need to establish. because we haven't ui online. that was a new system in 2013. we didn't have it in the great recession. thank goodness we have it today. because that's the only way we've been able to keep up with the massive massive volumes. five times or greater volume of claims than we did in the whole first year -- the worst year of the recession in 2010.

so i think it sounds like he needs to set up a new account. and in ui online. and you can find how to get on our website. >> lori, thank you we'll take a short break on the air. and come back to

all right. we are back with lori leavy, really appreciate the spokesperson with the e.d.d. talking with us and answer your questions pep we have so many i realize we can't get to them all. janice talks about being given an extension but because her birthday is incorrect on the system my claim balance is still shows zero, she says. they say i won't get paid until the birthday gets weeks a i kee have to wait for someone to call you back. when are they going to call me back? >> i'm not quite sure why a birthday -- i mean a birthday -- if there was a birthday entered incorrectly or something that might create a problem when we

cross-match dat data to authorize and profit you are who you say you are. that's the only thing i can think of when it comes to a birthday being inaccurate. if so that's something we would follow up with you on you'll get a notice regarding that. is probably the best thing i can tell you without knowing more specifics i'm afraid i can't say much more. be definitely be looking for the update on the ui online account which should give you more information. >> all right. let's see, amanda says my employment -- or i should say my unemployment ended and i called and was able to get my first extension. but during that time have four weeks that i certify for that still are not paid. will i get retropayment for this? >> and it all depends on what you responded on that two-week certification, the biweekly certification, right? >> even if there is any delay, please continue always completing the biweekly certification. because we have to go back to that if an issue is cleared, then we have to look at, did you meet every eligibility requirement? when you answered those

questions on that certification. and if so, then, yes, we can go back and pay you for all the weeks you met eligibility requirements. that's a really important thing for people to know. make sure you complete the biweekly certifications every time they are available. >> there are people who also say the website is difficult to navigate. i know you've been making changes, additions, improvements to the website. is it- you know, are you finding it to be easier to deal with right now? and what kind of improvements are you still making? >> oh, you know, this -- we are continuing to rebuild the plane in mid-air. so it's something we are always evolving and doing. we are doing usability testing. you know, the complication is that we do have four different programs we administer here at the dpmt development prom including family leave appear payroll taxes and workforce services. when if comes to unemployment insurance and the u.i. online system. yes we make enhancements there

and will continue to do so. especially helping people understand the whole certification process what those questions are and helping people understand and decipher that. yes there is continued to be improvements and more to come. >> okay, juan antonio says we need to invest money into a better system. they say the e.d.d. system is not able to help out right now. look, i know you've heard a lot of criticism due to what people had to endure to try to get through and all the waiting. let's talk about it. how do we make the system better? clearly ten years ago during the recession it became clear it needed an upgrade. it didn't happen. give people some idea what's going to happen in the near future to overhaul it once and for all. >> that's a good question. unfortunately it goes along with the funding and so forth that you receive. so, back in the great recession when there was scarce state funds we did receive authorization to modernize about 25% of the functionality within

our system. and we launched that after the great recession. and thankfully, like i said we had it in place here today. but we are very, very grateful for the support of the administration, the governor newsom administration aneurysm t. partners throughout the state. and really we're coming together to try to reenvision in a whole holistic way how that i.t. system can move forward in addition to the call center platform, you know, when we had to send everybody out working remotely we never anticipated that and we need to go to a new virtual call center platform and continuing to make enhancements there. there is a lot happening and will continue to do so

care. >> thank you very much. thanks so much for joining us today on this interactive

show "getting answers." today we tried to ask as many questions as possible to lori leavy to for you. we'll be back every day at 3:00 tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. what we have just learned about the newest vaccine, the newest hope in the fight against covid here in the u.s. johnson & johnson just tonight now formally asking for emergency use authorization for their vaccine. this is a single shot, they say 85% effective against severe symptoms and they say 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations and death. so, how long before we could see those single shot vaccines sent out across the country? whit johnson standing by with late reporting. also breaking at this hour, the vote on capitol hill, the full house forced to decide whether to strip embattled dodgewoman marjorie taylor greene of her commitment assignments. after her extremist views on qanon and suggesting part of

9/11 didn't happ.