Local News in Brief : Welfare Fraud Hot Line Praised
Los Angeles County officials have praised a program that rewards tipsters who report possible welfare fraud and credited the hot line service for stopping $100,000 in overpayments since the program began last March.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Eddy Tanaka, director of the county Department of Public Social Services, joined Bill King, vice president of the We Tip organization, in lauding the telephone service, which includes $100 rewards for successful tipsters.
Since the county began using two hot line numbers, (213) 749-4266 and (800) 87-FRAUD, the number of phone calls reporting welfare fraud have jumped 63%, according to Antonovich. More than 6,000 phone calls were received from March through July this year, contrasted to 3,700 during the same period a year ago, he said.
The $100,000 in overpayments came from 17 fraud cases stemming from citizen tips and another 430 cases are under investigation, Antonovich said.
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