美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tenants caught up in a California fraud probe are told to return rent-relief payments

Tenants¹ caught up in a California fraud probe are told to return rent-relief payments

Transcript²

California has handed out more than $4.3 billion in emergency rent relief since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. State officials have told nearly 19,000 people that they want the money back.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

California has provided more than $4 billion in emergency rent relief. The pandemic payments were a lifeline for many people. But now the state is telling thousands they have to give that money back because they were paid by mistake. From member station KQED, Vanessa Rancano reports.

VANESSA RANCANO, BYLINE³: When Napa resident Flor Rodriguez got a $9,000 rent relief check in the mail last December, it felt like an answer to her prayers.

FLOR RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

RANCANO: Even before the pandemic started, it was hard for her to make rent. First, wildfires put her out of her job picking grapes in Northern California's Napa vineyards. Then COVID slashed⁴ her hours cleaning houses. She could no longer come up with $1,650 a month for her apartment.

RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

RANCANO: Then a social worker told Rodriguez about the state's COVID rent relief program. She got approved and says she used the money to cover her back rent. But five months later, in April, the state told her she had to return the money because she had provided, quote, "inconsistent or unverifiable information" on her application.

RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

RANCANO: She says she had no way to pay it back. She's a single mom and worried about what would happen to her 9 and 2-year-old daughters.

RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

RANCANO: California has issued almost 19,000 notices to tenants and landlords who were originally approved for rent relief, saying they actually weren't eligible⁵. The vast majority of those went to people who'd already received the money from the state. It's part of an effort to catch fraud, says Jessica Hayes. She's the state administrator⁶ who manages the program. She declined to be interviewed for broadcast but says program officials were caught between carefully handing out taxpayer⁷ money only to those who qualified⁸ and a mandate⁹ from state lawmakers to get aid out quickly. That made catching¹⁰ all fraud on the front end difficult.

LORRAINE LOPEZ: Once you're approved, any normal person thinks, that's it. I'm done. My application is good. I've paid my landlord. I'm in a good place. I'm not going to be evicted¹¹.

RANCANO: Lorraine Lopez is a senior attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. She's part of the legal team suing the state over rent relief denials. She says tenants like Rodriguez, who desperately¹² needed the help, have gotten wrongfully caught up in efforts to prevent fraud.

LOPEZ: And that's incredibly scary for folks who already don't have a lot of money, who are trying to get back on their feet.

RANCANO: The state does give applicants¹⁴ a chance to appeal. But the lawsuit¹⁵ argues the process is overly difficult. Many of the denial notices don't specify¹⁶ what additional material an applicant¹³ would have to provide to keep the money. This summer, a judge ordered California to stop issuing both demands for repayment¹⁷ and denials while the lawsuit moves forward. In Napa, Flor Rodriguez is still waiting on her appeal. Meanwhile, she's preparing to move.

CARMEN: (Cooing).

RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

CARMEN: (Babbling).

RANCANO: She's at home with her 2-year-old daughter, Carmen, in her arms.

RODRIGUEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

RANCANO: On this day, she's getting a ride from a friend to go see another apartment. But Rodriguez is worried. Her appeal is still pending¹⁸. And the rental¹⁹ market is incredibly tight.

For NPR News, I'm Vanessa Rancano in Napa.

1 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

7 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

11 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

12 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

13 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

14 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

15 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

16 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

17 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

18 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

19 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。