Now Playing: The Case of California's Disappearing Billions

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: The Case of California's Disappearing Billions
Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Ben Ferguson (Premiere Networks)

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Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson examines a staggering case of fraud involving California’s homelessness and welfare programs, spotlighting the arrest of Alexander Sucher, who allegedly embezzled tens of millions in public funds. The podcast features investigative commentary, insights into wider fraud across California’s government programs, and the personal account of whistleblower Nick Shirley. The theme centers on public corruption, lack of state oversight, and the urgent need for accountability—delivered in Ben Ferguson’s direct, critical style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking News: Massive Fraud in California

• Ben introduces the episode by comparing recent fraud in Minnesota to new findings in California, asserting the scale is "truly unbelievable."
• Focus is placed on Alexander Sucher, accused of stealing over $23 million intended for homeless services in Los Angeles.

2. Details of the Alexander Sucher Case ([03:25]–[05:30])

• Fox News report (Matt Finn): Reports federal agents arrested Sucher at his LA mansion, seizing luxury goods bought with stolen taxpayer funds.
  • Quote:

    "The Fed say Sucre defrauded the city and county of LA out of $23 million in taxpayer dollars for not only his mansion and car, but a second home in Greece, luxury vacations, designer clothes and private schools." – Matt Finn, [03:45]

• Sucher’s non-profit was supposed to provide three meals daily to the homeless. Inspections revealed only canned beans and ramen noodles were available.
• The US Attorney's office is investigating at least a dozen more similar cases.
  • Quote:

    "California was pushing this money out quickly. A lot of money went out the door with frankly very little vetting, very little checks and balances and he's one of the individuals that got it." – Analyst/guest, [05:17]

3. Larger Pattern of Fraud and Lack of Oversight

• State programs rapidly disbursed funds with minimal vetting or oversight.
• Sucher faces up to 20 years in federal prison; local prosecution is also forthcoming.

4. Whistleblower Nick Shirley on California’s Systemic Issues ([07:31]–[09:26])

• Nick Shirley, known for uncovering similar fraud in Minneapolis, claims California is "even worse."
  • Quote:

    "Oh, there's massive fraud in California. I mean the homelessness has just increased as they receive more money. That's just one part of it... The fraud is like crazy in California and they have the highest taxes." – Nick Shirley, [07:31]

• Conversation covers the legal tool “Qui Tam,” allowing citizens to sue on the state's behalf and possibly recover a share of recaptured funds.
• Nick states he’s received invitations to pursue legal action and discusses accepting donations and information through his social media.
  • Quote:

    "I actually had somebody reach out to me the other day about it. So I'm going to actually hop on a phone call with that guy." — Nick Shirley, [08:11]

  • Quote:

    "Yeah, it's just Nick Shirley and if you go on X, I do have my tip section open. So if you would like to donate there, that gives them all the, whether it be Venmo Cash app crypto, you can all do it right there." — Nick Shirley, [09:16]

5. California’s Multi-Billion Dollar Losses ([09:27]–[11:34])

• Ben Ferguson outlines further fraud in state government and programs, referencing info from Benny Johnson and California’s state auditor:
  • $70 billion in taxpayer funds "lost" with no accounting.
  • $24 billion in homelessness funds unaccounted for.
  • $18 billion wasted on non-existent high-speed rail.
  • $32 billion in missing Covid relief.
  • $2.5 billion in SNAP (food stamp) fraud.
  • Billions spent on wildfire rebuilds but “no homes have been built.”
  • Quote:

    "State auditor in California found. Ready for this? 70 billion... Think about that number. 70 billion in taxpayer funds that have been lost like they just disappeared. No accounting for them whatsoever." — Ben Ferguson, [10:47]

• Ben expresses outrage at the lack of oversight and pins blame on Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration:

  "The taxpayer-funded nonprofits there are are embezzling our money by the billions. And the Governor is allowing it to happen." — Ben Ferguson, [11:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the sheer scale of fraud:

  "This is just one person... more than $23 million. I'll say it again, this is just one person." – Ben Ferguson, [03:14]

• From the Fox News segment:

  "He was living the high life while the people suffering homeless on the streets with no shelter, no food, they're living out in the streets. People are literally dying and this guy is out vacationing, buying homes, buying Range Rovers and going shopping." – Analyst, [04:25]

• On Nick Shirley’s activism:

  "I'm just going to be out here exposing all this waste, fraud and abuse. Like, that's what I'm doing with my life now. I'm not afraid." – Ben Ferguson, [09:27]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:25] – Fox News coverage of Alexander Sucher’s arrest and scale of fraud
• [04:42] – Details on homelessness program failures, fake vendors, fake facilities
• [05:17] – Analysis of California's rushed and poorly vetted disbursement process
• [07:31] – Whistleblower Nick Shirley discusses arriving in California
• [08:11] – Discussion of possible whistleblower lawsuits (“Qui Tam” actions)
• [09:16] – Nick Shirley provides contact information for tips and donations
• [09:27]–[11:34] – Ben recounts additional multi-billion dollar state-level missing funds and systemic fraud

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Summary Flow

• The episode begins with alarming news of an individual’s multi-million dollar fraud in LA, expands to describe a pattern of public sector corruption in California, and features an interview with a prominent whistleblower.
• The tone is incredulous and outraged, especially regarding government failures and taxpayer losses.
• Ferguson and his guests encourage audience vigilance and whistleblowing, laying blame on political leadership while calling for reform and accountability.

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For listeners:
This episode provides an in-depth look at massive alleged public fraud in California, using vivid language and news clips, and features ground-level insights from a nationally recognized investigator. It’s a sobering and passionate exploration of how billions of public dollars can vanish—and what can be done about it.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

This is an iheart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[Matt Finn]

We love clean, beautiful coal, don't we, Doug? I'm thrilled to welcome to the white house the men and women who light our cities. And you know, you do things that people don't even understand. There's so much you do. So much. You heat our homes, fuel our factories and turn natural resources into American riches and dreams our amazing coal miners. Thank you very much, fellas. That's great.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Good Thursday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one major story for you. If you thought the fraud that was found in Minnesota is bad, apparently we've seen nothing yet. Take a look at California and it's truly unbelievable what they're finding out there. But first, I want to tell you about our friends over at Patriot Mobile. Every so often, something happens that reminds us just how fragile our freedoms are. We can't afford to take our rights for granted. We must draw a line in the sand. And our friends at Patriot mobile have been doing just that for more than 12 years. The truth is there is only one provider that boldly stands in the gap for Americans who believe freedom is worth fighting for, and that company is Patriot mobile. Not only are they leading the red economy, the also outpacing the competition in technology. Patriot mobile is one of the only carriers offering premium access to all three major U. S networks, giving you nationwide coverage and service that you can count on day after day. They also offer unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming, Internet backup, and so much more. And switching has never been easier. You can activate in minutes on your phone from your home or your office. And you keep your same number you've got now, keep your same phone or upgrade to a new one. And this is where the magic happens. Every month, about 5% of your bill is given back to conservative causes at no extra cost to you that stand up for our first and our second amendment rights, the rights of unborn children and our wounded warriors and those that have fought for our country and wear a badge. So take a stand today. Go to patriotmobile.com Ben47 or call 9-72-patriot and if you use the promo code Ben47, you're going to get a free month of service. That's patriot mobile.com Ben47 or 972-patriot and make the switch today. It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. Story number one, massive fraud found in California. And many, including Donald Trump are warning that it may be bigger than what we found in Minnesota. Millions of your tax dollars were defrauded, in fact, by just one man. The money was meant to feed the homeless. I want you to hear how Fox News talked about this one individual that defrauded Americans of more than $23 million. I'll say it again, this is just one person. Listen the report from Fox News agents.

[Matt Finn]

Moving in today busting a man accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars meant for the homeless and spending that cash on a lavish lifestyle. Correspondent Matt Finn is live in Los Angeles for you. And you know, folks were warned about this and lo and behold, here it is.

[Correspondent at Fox News (possibly Matt Finn continuing)]

Yeah, this is it behind me.

[Matt Finn]

John.

[Correspondent at Fox News (possibly Matt Finn continuing)]

The Fed's saying this man was contracted with the city and county of Los Angeles to house and feed up to 600 homeless people. But instead he was misusing tens of millions of dollars to live a luxurious life. Exclusive Fox video shows the Fed's early morning bust here at the LA mansion. 42 year old Alexander Sucher was arrested. Sucer's $125,000 Land Rover was also seized by law enforcement. The Fed say Sucre defrauded the city and county of LA out of 23 million in taxpayer dollars for not only his mansion and car, but a second home in Greece, luxury vacations, designer clothes and private schools.

[Commentator or Analyst (possibly a guest or co-host)]

He was living the high life while the people suffering homeless on the streets with no shelter, no food, they're living out in the streets. People are literally dying and this guy is out vacationing, buying homes, buying Range Rovers and going shopping.

[Correspondent at Fox News (possibly Matt Finn continuing)]

Prosecutors say Suchr was supposed to provide three nutritional meals a day to the homeless. But during one inspection, Suchr only had canned beans and ramen noodles on hand. The Fed sayuker lied about various aspects of abundant blessings, including fake vendors, facilities and the homeless actually getting meals. The U.S. attorney's office in LA says they are actively investigating at least 12 other similar fraud cases here in California. First Assistant U.S. attorney Bill Asale says there's a tremendous amount of fraud in this state. And, and that today's bust of one man who misused $23 million alone may show how little oversight there is.

[Commentator or Analyst (possibly a guest or co-host)]

California was pushing this money out quickly. A lot of money went out the door with frankly very little vetting, very little checks and balances and he's one of the individuals that got it.

[Correspondent at Fox News (possibly Matt Finn continuing)]

The suspect is scheduled to make his first appearance later today. He faces up to 20 years if convicted on a federal case. The the local district attorney is also planning on prosecuting John.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now this is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, we now have the same man, Nick Shirley, who did the incredible job of discovering massive fraud in Minneapolis and exposing it to the world that has landed in California. And he's now saying that's even worse than anyone else could have imagined. Before I get to that though, I want to tell you about my good friends over at Bitcoin Iraq. I gotta ask you a question. Can you buy real bitcoin in your retirement account? Well, if not, it's time to upgrade to Bitcoin IRA. It's 2026 and cryptocurrency is where so many investors are going and diversifying. You can buy and sell bitcoin inside a tax advantage IRA with Bitcoin ira and that gives you more ways to diversify and grow your retirement savings. Security is their number one priority and your assets are protected by military grade multi key security. And you're covered up to 250 million in digital asset insurance. So what are you waiting for? Get in the bitcoin game today and diversify your portfolio. You actually talk to a real person. 8666-7968-7186-6679-7871 or bitcoin ira.com Ben. That's bitcoin ira.com Ben. To open a free account and earn up to a thousand dollar bonus right now. All right, take a listen to what Nick Shirley said about arriving in California and what he says is what? Well, incredible amounts of fraud that may be much bigger than what he exposed in Minnesota.

Oh, there's massive fraud in California. I mean the homelessness has just increased as they receive more money. That's just one part of it. And like you talked about the light rail and everything like that. The fraud is like crazy in California and they have the highest taxes.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, they want more.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly legal expert or commentator)]

Nick, has anybody approached you about this thing? I tweeted it about it. I had never heard about it, but these guys educated me on it called Quitan, which is this framework where you can actually sue on behalf of the state and on behalf of taxpayers. Has anybody approached you about thinking about using all of the information that you've garnered to try to launch some of these lawsuits or no?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I actually had somebody reach out to me the other day about it. So I'm going to actually hop on a phone call with that guy.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah. Also as I understand it, some of these whistleblower laws reward the whistleblower with something like 20 to 30% of amounts.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly legal expert or commentator)]

Up to 50% in some cases.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, that Are. I don't know if it's like fines or it's amounts that are recaptured.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly legal expert or commentator)]

Recaptured.

[Guest or Co-host]

But I don't know. Nick, you could become a billionaire here just with all the billions you've exposed.

[Ben Ferguson]

I know, right? I gotta sit down and figure it out.

[Guest or Co-host]

I know that's not why you're in.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly legal expert or commentator)]

It, but you'd be the most well loved billionaire in America if you did. Absolutely. Well, the way to do it is, you know, since you're drafting off of these other news reports is to set up your own tip line. So Nick, what's your website? Or do you have a website where people can donate and do you have a tip line? Because you wouldn't get the whistleblower awards for the stuff Fox 9 has been doing for a decade, but for the next one you could. So what is your website where people can donate, Nick?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, everything Just on social media so they can message me on any platform. I should probably get a website going.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly legal expert or commentator)]

What's your social media handle where people can DM you and donate?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's just Nick Shirley and if you go on X, I do have my tip section open. So if you would like to donate there, that gives them all the, whether it be Venmo Cash app crypto, you can all do it right there.

[Correspondent at Fox News (possibly Matt Finn continuing)]

So X stock.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, I love that this guy is doing this on his own. Like he's just like, yeah, if you want to support, go for it. I'm just going to be out here exposing all this waste, fraud and abuse. Like that's what I'm doing with my life now. I'm not afraid. Like Nick Shirley was in San Diego. He now estimates billions of dollars in fraud under Gavin Newsom's leaderships. And they want more money. They want to raise taxes even higher than they are right now. There's also Benny Johnson who says his team is traveling to the fraud capital of the world. He's now saying it's California. They say the fraud uncovered in Minnesota was very bad and led to the destruction of Tim Waltz's career. But Gavin Newsom's California is far worse. Saying the American taxpayer needs firsthand to understand how criminal California's fraud is robbing our nation blind. He said, here's just a glimpse of what we already know. State auditor in California found. Ready for this? 70 billion. Think about that number. 70 billion in taxpayer funds that have been lost like they just disappeared. No accounting for them whatsoever. 24 billion in California alone spent on non existent homelessness programs. That means someone stole $24 billion. 18 billion poured into non existent high speed rail. You heard Nick talk about that a second ago. 32 billion for Covid relief funds that have been stolen. 2.5 billion ready for this word lost to snap fraud. Billions spent on rebuilding after the Palisade fires, but no homes have been built. That is just some of what's being exposed right now. This is all happening in California. It's truly incredible. But California is the fraud capital of America and the taxpayer funded nonprofits there are are embezzling our money by the billions. And the Governor is allowing it to happen.

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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