Government and corruption often seem to go together like peas and carrots. Sometimes, it’s blatant beyond belief, such as when an official takes advantage of his or her office for personal gain – even if that gain is a great deal of inexplicable travel on the taxpayer’s dime.

Case in point: California’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, appears to have been soaking the people of California for a lot of travel he can’t explain.

At least 7 of the largest insurance carriers have pulled out of California entirely or are restricting policies. And California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has largely been a ghost, avoiding media and oversight from the Legislature. It appears that is because he is a very busy globetrotter – Lara traveled to 15 different countries paid for by California’s taxpayers, according to KGO/ABC7.

While California homeowners have been getting hit with massive spikes in insurance premiums, or getting notices that their insurance is cancelled altogether, leaving only double or triple rate increases in the government’s last-resort FAIR insurance plan, Lara traveled to grand places.

Lara enjoys traveling on the taxpayer dime, according to KGO/ABC7, who questioned Lara’s travel record since 2019:

“7 On Your Side obtained and analyzed hundreds of public records that detail at least 46 cross-country and international trips all over the world — including at least 11 taxpayer-funded excursions to places like Bogota, Paris, and Toronto. But after more than a month of questioning his office, Lara’s staff has been unable to identify the business purpose for nearly all of them.”

While Lara was on his holiday road, California’s insurance market was collapsing, carriers were pulling out – and California’s state government is deeply in the red. And what’s worse, Lara can’t even explain the purpose behind most of his jaunts.

Perhaps Lara’s biggest problem is not just the travel and taxpayer expense, but that his staff can’t identify the business purpose for his trips.

That’s an abuse of office AND fraudulent use of taxpayer funds.

And, this was all taking place as major insurance companies were restricting policies, cancelling policies, or entirely pulling out of California.

ABC7 continues:

“However, two months after missing the March 2024 hearing, the Commissioner was able to make a ‘Legislative Study Tour’ in the United Kingdom for eight days. And he wasn’t late for a ‘Climate Presentation’ to the Central Bank of Uruguay later that month. And he didn’t miss his flight to Honolulu the following week for a ‘policy training.’ Public records show taxpayers picked up his four-star hotel bill.

Paris, Bogata, Bermuda, Uruguay, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Florida, Toronto, Singapore, Cape Town, Dublin, Costa Rica, Chile, Egypt, Tokyo, Glasgow, and Dubai. “Plus a handful of trips to Arizona, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, Washington DC, and Connecticut.”

If that’s not fraud, then there’s no such beast.