Scrub,
I'm guessing the reason Calif figures high on the list may have something to do with the fact that that state may be easy target for other reasons. This State may not be as quick to go after these scammers as other states. PA is high on the list too. That's where I presently live. I got a luke warm response from The ATT GEN in PA when I complained about NCFG LLC. They referred me to Arizona. It seems PA should take more of an active interest in these scammers since they are victimizing residence here.
PSB

One of the reasons that California is high on the list along with Florida and other areas may also have something to do with the state's positioning and the amount of Transiant Traffic that goes through it. Take florida for instance, I live in Florida and the amount of cons, rip offs and scams here is huge, these people will typically run their thing until suspicion arises and then poof they are gone. Or they hit and run real fast, leaving nothing to really go by in the dust.

Why? Florida has major airports around every corner it seems, it is easy to get in and out by boat, cruise ship etc. Just look at the amount of drugs that make their way into the US mainly through ports in Florida and other Coastal States.

But just because there is one possible explanation that does not mean there arent a ton of other reasons these people pick the states they do to do the dirty work in. In all of my research into scams I have yet to come up with one single sensible explanation for why these people do what they do other than GREED.

Notice spots 1-4 are all areas with access to the ocean and have large airports.