EDD freezes payments to 1.4 million California residents

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The state Employment Development Department has withheld unemployment payments for 1.4 million California residents as it works to investigate fraudulent claims.

The Department of Immigration and Crime has already shut down 2 million fraudulent accounts and will contact the remaining claimants to verify their identities, according to the Associated Press.

The delay comes at a time when San Diego County is still subject to a lockdown order issued by the governor that has pushed restaurants away only, closing salons, and forcing gyms out only.

Ronald Davis, who lost his job at SeaWorld San Diego, said the state sent him $ 12 from his first vacation before freezing his account. Now he’s waiting for information to verify his identity, as his bank account is falling into negativity.

“I have reserves and they have largely disappeared at this point,” Davis said, noting that he has applied for food vouchers and lives in a hotel.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 140,000 Americans lost their jobs in December, the first month of job losses nationwide since March.

The International Emergency Department says it has contacted everyone whose claim has been suspended and is directing them through how to re-establish payments. It says that if no formal response is received, the claim will be disqualified.