Posts Tagged: . fraud.

Opinion

Old credit card technology is fraud-prone

A credit card equipped with a chip. (Photo: Petratiu, via Shutterstock)

Consumers are increasingly using credit and debit cards to transact purchases, from lattes to electronics. Unfortunately with that evolution comes financial fraud. As a victim of credit card fraud I can speak firsthand about the ensuing difficulties, even with financial institutions willing to help. Currently, the United States is the only major economic power in the world that still uses outdated magnetic stripe cards coupled with a faulty signature verification process.

News

Jean Shiomoto: From the Delta to the DMV

DMV Director Jean Shiomoto on the job. (Photos: Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly)

Jean Shiomoto, who grew up on a pear farm in the Delta, has one of the toughest jobs in California – she runs the Department of Motor Vehicles. In this car-happy state – by one estimate, L.A. County alone has 5.9 million registered automobiles, more than all but five states – anything do with with automobiles is a big deal.

News

Rod Wright resigns Senate seat

Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, at a sentencing hearing last week in Los Angeles. (Photo: Associated Press)

State Sen. Rod Wright, who began his state political career nearly two decades ago and rose to chair the powerful Senate committee that targets alcohol and gambling, resigned from the Senate Monday effective Sept. 22, just days after he was sentenced for voter fraud and perjury.

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A deep dive into Senate culture

The California Senate, Sacramento. (Photo: Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)

When the California state Senate reaches the end of its 2013-14 legislative session later this month, it will mark the end of a highly tumultuous period in the institution’s more than 150-year history. Allegations of bribery, corruption, international arms trafficking, racketeering, perjury, illegal drug use and nepotism among senators and Senate staff have marred the institution’s public image for more than a year.

News

Wright, Calderon, Yee suspended from Senate

Three state Senators – one convicted of voter fraud and perjury and the other two facing federal corruption charges – were suspended from office Friday effective immediately. The Senate voted 28-1 to suspend Sens. Leland Yee of San Francisco, Ron Calderon of Montebello and Rod Wright of Inglewood – all Democrats.

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Rod Wright convicted in voter fraud, perjury case

Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, at a 2013 conference on online gaming. (Photo: Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)

Sen. Rod Wright, the chair of the powerful Governmental Organization Committee and the Legislature’s leading expert on online gaming, was convicted of eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud in a case spanning nearly seven years. He was convicted of lying about his true address — which under California law must be in the district he represents — and lying on registration and candidacy documents. (Above: Rod Wright at a Sacramento conference, 2013. Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)

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Opinion: Bridge the tax gap: Bringing in the whistleblowers

Recent reports from the Franchise Tax Board estimate that California faces a roughly $6.5 billion “tax gap” from unpaid taxes. Remarkably, the state has overlooked an easy solution that is already on its books to help close the tax gap: a reward program to encourage whistleblowers to report tax fraud and tax evasion.

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