The Trump administration is conducting raids in California using its unverified list of 20,000 people it alleges are “likely noncitizens” registered to vote, and using the arrests to try to bolster its lawsuit seeking to stop ballots from being counted.
Eleven people were arrested on Monday, and in total 28 foreign nationals were charged, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a press release after local news reports of the law enforcement action.
The law enforcement action represents another dangerous escalation after the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week demanded California review and withhold ballots from those they suspect are noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The state declined to act on the list, calling the request “outrageous.”
The Trump administration said Monday’s arrests are part of its so-called “Operation Protect…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.