Economy

SD County Investigates Welfare Fraud

By Joanne Faryon / Investigative Reporter

Published May 10, 2010 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors controls a $5 billion budget and makes decisions affecting your health and safety. They oversee services that range from prosecuting criminals to feeding the poor. Learn about your supervisor’s priorities and how the group spends your money.

SD County Investigates Welfare Fraud

San Diego County spent more money investigating public assistance fraud last year then it uncovered in fraud. But the District Attorney’s office says the county saves far more over the long term.

The DA investigates applications for assistance programs such as food stamps and CalWORKs, the state’s welfare program, for fraud.

County budget figures show the DA's Office spent more then $8 million tracking down $5 million in false claims.

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John Haley is in charge of those investigations. He says the savings is potentially much larger because many of the applicants could receive benefits for several months.

“Twelve months times the $4 million gives you $48 million.”

More then 20,000 assistance claims were sent to the DA’s office for investigation last year. About one in four had inconsistencies or false claims.

Economy

Joanne Faryon

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As an investigative reporter, Joanne Faryon worked with the team of journalists at inewsource, a nonprofit journalism enterprise embedded in the KPBS newsroom. Faryon has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, working in a print, radio and TV. She previously worked in Canada and the U.S., specializing in investigative reporting. During her time at KPBS, Faryon served as reporter, host, and producer for both TV and radio. Among her many stories and investigations is the 2010 look into the effectiveness of the Whooping Cough vaccine. The series of in-depth features lead the Centers for Disease Control re-examine their reporting and change their guidelines. Faryon’s work has been honored by the USC's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism with the Walter Cronkite Award for political journalism. The prestigious honor was for the Envision special, “Who’s Supervising San Diego?” – an in-depth look at the County’s Board of Supervisors. Faryon has also received an honorable mention from the National Press Foundation in 2010 for an in-depth look at the state's prison system as part of the Envision series. In addition, Faryon has earned two regional Emmys and several awards from the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Her Canadian honors include a Manitoba Human Rights award for meritorious service for her investigative work on the Ku Klux Klan and right-wing extremism in Canada. Joanne has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Winnipeg and a creative communications diploma from Red River College.

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