$370 million in state funds meant for substance abuse programs instead went to helping the Democrats, claims California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Gavin Newsom rival and his unofficial ‘DOGE’ sector.
Hilton’s self-proclaimed CAL DOGE, which is modeled after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launched last year under President Donald Trump, will take a wrecking ball to the Democrat-led state government, opening up the Golden State’s books, torching bureaucracy, and exposing waste and fraud, according to Hilton’s campaign.
The grassroots organization now claims that the staggering amount of money that was sourced from the California Cannabis Tax Fund, was instead sent to a tangled web of organizations that “build the Democrat voter base,” Hilton’s unofficial CAL DOGE alleged to the New York Post.
According to CAL DOGE, the cash, collected whenever anyone buys marijuana in California, ended up with 517 companies who got checks averaging $700,000, the group alleged.
According to their investigation, the money was controlled by Elevate Youth California, which was supposed to send taxes raised from cannabis sales under Prop 64 to support substance abuse programs in the state.
But those that received the sum instead included Young Invincibles and the Jakara Movement, nonprofits in LA and Fresno that misused the grants, the group uncovered.
According to The Post, The Jakara Movement accepted $350,000 that went towards “Sikh youth empowerment and voter registration.” and Young Invincibles secured a $1 million grant broadly applied to “civic engagement” efforts, CAL DOGE claimed.
The report also noted that Asian Refugees United, a San Francisco social justice group that is part of the larger Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality network, snagged $800,000 “for LGBTQ+ Asian Storytelling.”
Elevate Youth, Young Invincibles, the Jakara Movement, and Asian Refugees United have not commented on the findings at the time of publication.
In all, Hilton and his state controller running mate, Herb Morgan, say they have uncovered an estimated $250 billion in “fraud, waste and abuse across major state programs” across California.
“In seven days of work, CAL DOGE has already uncovered more fraud than Gavin Newsom and his regime have done in their seven years in power. And we’re not even elected yet!” Hilton said after launching CAL DOGE in late January.
‘This is exactly why I set up CAL DOGE in the first place, to expose fraud and corruption in the system so we can act to stop it on day one.
“There is much more to come from CAL DOGE and its work will play a huge part in ending 16 years of Democrat one party rule this November.”
Hilton has said he believes fraud in California under Newsom’s watch will trump the findings of widespread fraud in Minnesota.
Hilton has continuously blamed Democrats for allowing the state’s bloated budget — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans for $348.9 billion in overall spending this month — to grow out of control.
California now spends almost $150 billion more than it did before Newsom took office in 2019.
“This is what you get after 16 years of one-party rule,” Hilton said.
“Corruption. Fraud. Abuse. A political machine that takes money from working Californians and hands it to political insiders, consultants and activist front groups. CAL DOGE exists to end that system and replace it with accountability and reform.”