Supervisors Authorize $650,000 Grant for D.A.'s Office

The District Attorney's Office will have an additional $685,000 to prosecute auto insurance scammers and parole violators, thanks to state grants that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors signed off on today.

The California Department of Insurance awarded the Automobile Insurance Fraud Program grant of $650,000 for the current fiscal year, to be used "solely for the purpose of enhanced investigation and prosecution of automobile insurance fraud cases," according to D.A.'s office documents.

The funds must be spent before July 1.

Separately, the D.A. received an additional $35,704 under the Community Corrections Partnership formed after the passage of Assembly Bill 109, otherwise known as the "Public Safety Realignment" legislation.

AB 109, enacted in October 2011, required local agencies to take on responsibilities previously handled by the state, including the supervision of parolees and the prosecution of parole violators.

In the current fiscal year, the state provided the county $43.1 million to offset expenses tied to the increased workload. The money was spread among the county's various public safety agencies, as well as the court system, Department of Mental Health and individual police departments within the county.

The additional $35,704 for the D.A.'s office came about from CCP budget adjustments that boosted the agency's funding share to $1.22 million, according to D.A. Paul Zellerbach.