BONUS POD: Now Playing-The Case of California's Disappearing Billions

Summary

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BONUS POD: Now Playing – The Case of California's Disappearing Billions

Podcast: Verdict with Ted Cruz
Host: Ben Ferguson (with commentary from other guests, including investigative journalist Nick Shirley)
Date: February 12, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into alleged rampant fraud surrounding government funding in California, focusing primarily on money earmarked for homelessness programs and public projects. Drawing parallels to a high-profile fraud scandal in Minnesota, Ben Ferguson and his guests discuss new investigations, major whistleblower efforts, and the astronomical sums of taxpayer money reportedly lost or misappropriated in California. The episode spotlights investigative work by Nick Shirley, debates oversight failures, and offers listeners insight into broader problems of government accountability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. California’s Exploding Fraud Crisis (04:22 – 12:20)

• Comparison to Minnesota:
  Minnesota's biggest case—one man fraudulently taking $23 million meant for the homeless—is used as a launching point. Ferguson asserts California’s fraud is even more "unbelievable" in scale.

  "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." – Ben Ferguson (03:19)

• Detailed Example – LA Homelessness Scandal:
  FOX correspondent Matt Finn reports on Alexander Sucher, who allegedly used $23 million intended to house and feed 6,600 homeless people to fund an opulent lifestyle, buying luxury cars, real estate, and more.

  "He was living the high life while the people suffering homeless on the streets with no shelter, no food... Prosecutors say Sucre was supposed to provide three nutritional meals a day to the homeless. But during one inspection, Suchor only had canned beans and ramen noodles..." – Matt Finn, FOX News (04:33 – 05:24)

• Extensive Fraud Ongoing:
  U.S. Attorney’s office is actively investigating at least 12 similar cases in California. There’s concern over lack of vetting and oversight in rapidly distributed funds.

  "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." (06:11)

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2. Nick Shirley’s Investigative Work & Whistleblowing (08:21 – 10:16)

• Nick Shirley’s Insights & Reform Suggestions:
  Nick Shirley (who exposed massive fraud in Minneapolis) is now sounding alarms in California, describing "massive fraud," particularly as homelessness and public spending grow.

  "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 (08:21)

• Quid Tam & Whistleblower Lawsuits:
  Shirley is encouraged to leverage qui tam laws (allowing individuals to sue on behalf of the state for fraud and share in any recovered funds). He acknowledges he's been contacted about this.

  "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." – Nick Shirley (09:01)

• Crowdfunding and Tip Lines:
  Shirley, operating independently, shares how people can support his work or submit tips, primarily via social media.

  "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...Venmo, Cash app, crypto... you can all do it right there." – Nick Shirley (10:06)

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3. Billions Unaccounted For: Hard Numbers (10:17 – 12:38)

• Astounding Sums Cited:

  • State Auditor Finds $70 Billion "Lost":
    Ferguson references reports from California’s Auditor about $70 billion in taxpayer funds lost with no accounting.

  • $24 Billion in Non-Existent Homelessness Programs:
    Money designated is "gone"—no results seen.

  • $18 Billion to Non-Existent High-Speed Rail:
    Funds allocated for rail projects with little to show.

  • $32 Billion in COVID-19 Relief Allegedly Stolen.

  • $2.5 Billion to SNAP (food assistance) fraud.

  • Billions for fire recovery projects with no tangible rebuilding.

    "State auditor in California found...70 billion in taxpayer funds that have been lost like they just disappeared. No accounting for them whatsoever. 24 billion... spent on non existent homelessness programs. That means someone stole $24 billion. 18 billion poured into non existent high speed rail... 32 billion for Covid relief funds that have been stolen. 2.5 billion... lost to snap fraud." – Ben Ferguson (10:50 – 11:35)

• Political Critique:

  • Governor Gavin Newsom is held responsible for this apparent "fraud capital of America" status, with claims that nonprofits and state-funded organizations are embezzling billions while oversight is absent.

    "California is the fraud capital of America and the taxpayer funded non profits there are embezzling our money by the billions and the governor is allowing it to happen." – Ben Ferguson (12:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scale of fraud:

  "This is just the tip of the iceberg." – Ben Ferguson (06:30)

• On personal motivation:

  "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 on Nick Shirley (10:17)

• On whistleblower potential:

  "Nick, you could become a billionaire here just with all the billions you've exposed." – Ben’s guest to Nick Shirley (09:22)

• On California’s rapid spending:

  "A lot of money went out the door with frankly very little vetting, very little checks and balances..." – Assistant U.S. Attorney quoted (06:17)

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Important Timestamps

• 04:22 – 06:30: LA homelessness fraud story coverage (FOX News audio)
• 08:21 – 10:16: Nick Shirley discusses scale of California fraud and whistleblower actions
• 10:50 – 12:38: Ben Ferguson summarizes the "disappearing billions" – striking loss amounts and condemnation of oversight failures

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Episode Tone & Style

The tone is urgent, incredulous, and combative—consistent with the "Verdict" brand’s conservative advocacy. Both Ben Ferguson and his guests stress outrage over government mismanagement and corruption, targeting California’s political leadership, and frame whistleblower efforts as heroic public service.

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Takeaway

This episode presents a damning account of alleged systemic fraud in California’s use of taxpayer funds, using both anecdotal evidence and whistleblower accounts to illustrate deep oversight failures. For listeners, the takeaway is a call for vigilance, greater accountability, and support for investigative efforts to expose and prevent misuse of public resources.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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. 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. 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, they're 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. 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 972-patriot and if you use the promo code Ben47, you're gonna get a free month of service. That's patriotmobile.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. 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 to the report from FOX News agents moving in today, busting a man accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars meant for the homeless and spending.

[C]

That cash on a lavish lifestyle.

[B]

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.

[C]

Yeah, this is it behind me, John. The feds say this man was contracted with the city and county of Los Angeles to house and feed up to 6, 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. Sucher's $125,000 Land Rover was also seized by law enforcement. The Fed say Sucer 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. 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. Prosecutors say Sucre was supposed to provide three nutritional meals a day to the homeless. But during one inspection, Suchor only had canned beans and ramen noodles on the Fed say Luker 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 that today's bust of one man who misused $23 million alone may show how little oversight there is. 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. The suspect is scheduled to make his first appearance later today. He faces up to 20 years if convicted on a federal case. The local district attorney is also planning on prosecuting John.

[B]

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@bitcoin IRA. 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, well, incredible amounts of fraud that may be much bigger than what he exposed in Minnesota.

[D]

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.

[E]

Yeah. They want more.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

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 kwitam, 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?

[D]

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.

[E]

Yeah. Also, as I understand it, some of these whistleblower laws reward the whistleblower with something like 20 to 30% of amounts. Up to 50% in some cases. Yeah.

[B]

That are.

[E]

I don't know if it's like fines or it's amounts that are recaptured. Recaptured. But I don't know. Nick, you could become a billionaire here just with all the billions you've exposed.

[D]

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

[E]

I know that's not why you're in it, but you'd be the most well loved billionaire in America if you did.

[D]

Absolutely.

[E]

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? Where 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?

[D]

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

[E]

Nick, what's your social media handle where people can DM you and donate?

[D]

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.

[C]

So X stock.

[B]

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 non profits there 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.

[C]

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[A]

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