California approved unemployment benefits for 20,000 prisoners, prosecutors say

State authorizes more than $140m in payouts in alleged fraud highlighting department in crisis

California's system for paying unemployment benefits is so dysfunctional that the state approved more than $140m for at least 20,000 incarcerated people, local and federal prosecutors said.

Law enforcement officials on Tuesday said more than 35,000 incarcerated people were named in claims filed with the California employment development department from March to August. More than 20,000 had been paid, according to Anne Marie Schubert, the Sacramento county district attorney.