Local News in Brief : Crime Hot Line Expands
A hot line for anonymously reporting crimes was expanded to take tips on welfare fraud, with Los Angeles County offering up to $500 for information that leads to criminal convictions, Supervisor Mike Antonovich announced Monday.
We Tip, a nationwide hot line for reporting crime, added a new telephone line three days ago for citizens to anonymously report welfare fraud, said James Vigneau, the hot line’s president.
The county is providing $30,000 a year for reward money for people whose tips lead to the arrest and conviction of a welfare cheater, Antonovich said. Tipsters can claim up to $500 under the program.
Eddy Tanaka, director of the county Department of Public Social Services, said more than $17 million in welfare fraud was committed in the county last year.
“Our targets are those who have hidden employment and hidden income who still steal welfare money, those who have fraudulent and multiple social security cards,” Antonovich said.
We Tip, begun in 1972 in Southern California by a retired deputy sheriff and businessman, has 34 operators who take telephone calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The operation’s location is kept secret to protect tipsters from retribution.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
