Federal prosecutors in California are intensifying their efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in state-administered public programs, with the high-profile guilty plea of career fraudster Paul Richard Randall serving as a stark example. In a Fox Business interview aired this week, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California directly linked the case to broader ongoing investigations.

In March 2026, California has become ground zero for a bold new wave of citizen journalism. Independent reporters, armed with hidden cameras, public records, and street-level grit, are exposing what they call rampant waste, abuse, and outright fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.