The $425 BILLION Fraud Crisis Destroying California | Steve Hilton
The Winston Marshall Show
Winston Marshall
4.8 • 660 Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton for a conversation on corruption, government waste, energy policy, and the collapse of the California Dream.Hilton lays out explosive claims surrounding what he describes as a vast system of fraud, waste, and political corruption within California’s government, arguing that hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been misused over the past decade. We examine his “Califraud” investigations, allegations involving homelessness programmes, climate funds, cannabis tax revenue, and welfare spending, and why he believes one-party rule has created a culture of impunity within the state bureaucracy.The conversation explores the homelessness crisis, rising poverty, soaring energy costs, and why California now has some of the highest taxes and worst affordability in the United States. Hilton argues that environmental policy, overregulation, and ideological governance have hollowed out the middle class, while pushing businesses and working families out of the state.We also discuss the Iran war, oil prices, and the contradiction of California importing foreign oil while restricting domestic production. Hilton explains why he believes the state’s climate agenda has become detached from reality, and outlines his plan to lower gas prices, reduce regulation, and restore energy independence.We examine his campaign for governor, the political machine he is up against, and whether voters in one of America’s deepest blue states are finally ready for change.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our show is independently supported by you, consider signing up to our substack to get added benefits like ad-free and extended episodes here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters 00:00 California’s “$425 Billion Fraud Crisis”01:05 Steve Hilton’s Run for Governor :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}01:54 “Califraud” — Fraud, Waste & Abuse in California07:46 Pandemic Fraud, Prison Gangs & Homeless Spending11:36 Did California Fund A Democrat Voter Machine?17:58 Ghost Companies, Hospice Fraud & NGO Corruption20:47 The “Homeless Industrial Complex”25:23 Can California Actually Be Fixed?32:06 Iran, Oil Prices & California’s Energy Crisis39:36 Trump’s Endorsement & Republican Chances in California45:14 “This Is What Democrat Rule Looks Like”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We have the highest unemployment rate of all 50 states. We're just performing really, really badly, |
| 0:05.4 | and yet we're spending huge amounts of money. |
| 0:07.2 | I mean, this makes Ilhan Omar look like a saint. The headline number is that would be higher |
| 0:12.1 | than the GDP of Pakistan. There's just been no restraint on any of this stuff. |
| 0:16.5 | Cannabis was legalized Prop 64, and part of the legalization was a tax where the proceeds would be spent on substance abuse prevention. |
| 0:24.4 | If you actually look at the contracts, it's just not what the public thinks is being done with their money. |
| 0:31.5 | This is all part of the Democrat machine. |
| 0:33.4 | There's no accountability. |
| 0:34.7 | There's a kind of arrogance. |
| 0:36.0 | Like, we could just get away with this stuff. |
| 0:37.8 | It is the case that California imports a lot of its oil from Iraq. |
| 0:43.3 | How long do you think Californians should take the hit for the Iran war? |
| 0:48.5 | The hit in California is more than twice as great from Democrat policies as it is from the Iran War. |
| 0:56.8 | My plan to juice will imports, this is David versus Goliath, isn't it? |
| 1:04.9 | Steve Hilton, welcome back to the show. |
| 1:06.6 | Great to be with you. |
| 1:07.9 | Great pleasure. |
| 1:08.6 | And last time we discussed homelessness and energy. |
| 1:11.7 | And you announced that you were running the governor of California. |
| 1:15.3 | Now as we speak, you are charging ahead. |
| 1:18.2 | Certainly, we've got the juggle primary and you are leading the pack. |
| 1:23.2 | If it's a different story, I think a little bit if we talk about the run for November. |
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