Fraud, waste accusations roil EV voucher program

Los Angeles Times ^ | October 18, 2026 | Tony Briscoe and Sandhya Kambhampati

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Green transportation initiative for trucks and buses faces allegations of mismanagement, poor oversight

With over $1 billion spent, California’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project is one of the state’s most well-financed environmental initiatives.

By subsidizing up to 90% of the cost of hybrid and zero-emission vehicles, state officials say the project has helped businesses and transit agencies deploy nearly 12,000 trucks, buses and vans throughout California — particularly in neighborhoods that have been plagued by cancer-causing diesel pollution.

But what was designed 17 years ago to be the nation’s premier green transportation initiative is now facing accusations of fraud, waste and poor oversight.

Although officials have described the program as a “resounding success,” state authorities have launched an investigation into an EV manufacturer that allegedly received nearly $1 million in public funds for “vehicles that did not exist,” according to a ruling in a civil case involving the manufacturer. Authorities are also probing whether vehicle identification records were altered in order to “impermissibly double-dip,” and obtain multiple vouchers for a single EV, according to a court petition to enforce investigative subpoenas filed by the state attorney general’s office.

Officials say the voucher program has helped to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission trucks and buses, but some businesses and transit agencies claim that officials have failed to properly vet vehicle manufacturers. One in four automakers that have participatedin the program have ceased production or exited the zero-emission vehicle market, leaving trucking businesses and transit fleets without critical support to keep their EVs on the road.

And although officials say the program has prevented the release of nearly 1.5 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide and 2,200 tons of smog-forming emissions, the state has failed to keep accurate records of program vehicles,...

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; demagogicparty; gavinnewsom

[Mlheureux]

Who would’ve guessed?

[Mlheureux]

Who would’ve guessed?

[Steely Tom]

Oh dear. Something is roiling in La La Land.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

The Trump administration needs to focus on how much of the waste in CA or MN is state administration of federal program $. These states are looking the other way on waste fraud and abuse because it is the injection of federal dollars into their state economies (or in the case of MN, the Somali economy).

[Fungi]

One dollar goes to Washington, if we are lucky 10 cents comes back, and of that 10 cents, 9 cents are wasted as fraud, waste and kickbacks among other things. A redistribution of money via the income tax. The founding fathers knew better.

[quantim]

“A redistribution of money via the income tax.”

And don’t forget the $42,000,000,000,000 debt by the end of
the year that will ultimately bring us down.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

Accusations of fraud, waste and poor oversight.

In other words, the status quo.

[gibsonguy]

Maybe they should have the high speed train group take this over.

[catnipman]

one billion divided by 12,000 is $83,333 of “help” per van, truck or bus ... that king of “help” alone proves massive fraud must be occurring ...