Tag: fraud

The CFPB Wants You To Pay For Mistakes Of Others

Imagine receiving an email from a stranger offering you one hundred thousand dollars in a week if you send them ten thousand dollars today. Most of us would immediately recognize this as a scam and avoid it. However, what if you were guaranteed to get your initial ten thousand dollars back, even if it turned out to be a fraud? It seems obvious that removing such risk would encourage people to make reckless financial decisions – to everyone except President Biden’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB.) This is evidenced by their recent lawsuit against the fintech payment service Zelle.

The CFPB is suing Zelle arguing that it should be forced to reimburse anyone who unwittingly transfers their own money to a scammer. Its actions seem all the more disingenuous given that no federal law endorsed or approved by Congress saddles fintech payment processors with such liability — but progressives have long been trying to create one.

Now with a new administration incoming, CFPB Chair Rohit Chopra and his army of bureaucrats are making a final push to circumvent Congress and enact laws themselves to burnish their resumés before Trump cleans house. If Chopra’s policies are so beneficial or popular, why can’t they receive a vote in Congress? 

What the CFPB is asking Zelle to do is akin to forcing us to reimburse others for their online gambling losses. It presents a unique moral hazard by effectively making Zelle provide ‘scam insurance’ on its peer-to-peer platform where users directly self-authorize transactions. How could such platforms possibly ensure that any and every time its customers send money to another (at their behest) it’s not a scam? The notion that people should be able to irresponsibly send money – despite receiving warnings from the app, already in place – to an unvetted dubious recipient without consequences is one of the more wrongheaded ideas to have ever been floated when it comes to regulating our banks.

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Adam Schiff’s conflicting ‘principal’ residences in mortgage, election papers raise fraud concerns

In the two decades before he became the Democrats’ U.S. Senate nominee in California, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff repeatedly declared in mortgage and election filings that both of his homes – one in California and the other in Maryland – were his “principal residence.” The claims have now prompted an ethics complaint and could be prosecutable as fraud, experts said.

Americans are allowed to claim just one home as their primary residence: the one they live in the majority of the year, according to the federally backed lender Freddie Mac. But Schiff alternately declared both of his properties in the two different states as “principal” on multiple mortgage and election forms dating to 2003 and reviewed by Just the News.

Those declarations over the years won him financial and political benefits like lower mortgage interest rates, tax advantages and the ability to run for election in a California House district.

Schiff and his office did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment by phone or email.

“Principal” residences in two states

In at least three instances, documents show that in 2009 and again in 2011 and 2013, Schiff refinanced his Maryland home and declared it was his “principal residence” at the same time he had declared his principal residence was in the California, according to 2009 and 2011 financing docs for his Burbank condo.

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Raytheon To Pay Over $950 Million In Settlement Over Fraud, Qatari Bribery, And Export Violations

Raytheon, a subsidiary of defense contractor RTX, has agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve federal investigations into government contract fraud, as well as violations of anti-corruption and export control laws.

The settlement, announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Oct. 16, addresses allegations involving defective pricing on military contracts with the U.S. government, as well as illegal bribes to a Qatari official, with the resolution involving both civil and criminal penalties.

An RTX spokesperson confirmed the settlement, telling The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the company acknowledges responsibility for the misconduct and has cooperated with investigators. The company also emphasized its commitment to bolstering its compliance and ethics programs.

Raytheon has admitted to two major fraud schemes affecting Department of Defense (DoD) contracts, including the provision of PATRIOT missile systems and radar systems.

In the first case, Raytheon employees provided defective pricing information, leading the DoD to overpay on two contracts by roughly $111 million between 2012 and 2018.

In a separate scheme, Raytheon failed to provide accurate cost or pricing data for numerous DoD contracts, including a weapons maintenance agreement, leading to further inflated payments.

Under the terms of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of $146.8 million and $111.2 million in victim compensation and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The company received a 25 percent reduction in penalties for taking remedial actions, such as firing employees responsible for the misconduct and implementing new controls to prevent future fraud.

Additionally, Raytheon has agreed to pay $428 million to settle False Claims Act allegations related to providing false data during contract negotiations with the DoD. As part of the settlement, Raytheon admitted it misrepresented labor and material costs for weapon systems and double-billed on a radar station contract.

“The department is committed to holding accountable those contractors that knowingly misrepresent their cost and pricing data or otherwise violate their legal obligations when negotiating or performing contracts with the United States,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

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Worst COVID Fund Fraud in U.S. Occurred in Minnesota’s Somali Community Under Gov. Tim Walz

The nation is learning that the single largest COVID relief-fund fraud in the country occurred in the Somali community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, under Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) tenure, and recently even CNN had to sit up and take notice.

On Friday, CNN reported about the massive amount of theft of government funding that has been going on in Minnesota under Walz. The network noted that non-partisan state auditors have published no less than 16 reports on the massive amounts of fraud occurring in the Gopher State during Walz’s governorship.

But the worst incident in Minnesota also stands as the most expensive fraud concerning COVID funding in the entire nation where 47 Somali immigrants have been charged with stealing $250 million in federal COVID funding.

Under Walz’s leadership, a fake Somali charity called “Feeding Our Future” was found to have defrauded the government of millions of dollars, money that was set aside to help children and families during the COVID crisis, but money that was stolen to pay for high-priced real estate, cars, clothes, travel expenses, and luxuries for the members of the Somali community that managed the funds.

Gov. Walz claimed that they caught the fraud “early” and patted himself on the back for working to clean up the mess and prosecute the fraudsters. But CNN noted that Walz’s own Dept. of Education left the door wide open for this type of fraud.

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The Biggest Drug Fraud in History

  • Ozempic, a diabetes drug now used for weight loss, is part of a massive fraud that could harm millions, especially children, by treating obesity without addressing its root causes.
  • The obesity epidemic is driven in part by ultra-processed foods designed to override natural satiety mechanisms, not by a lack of weight loss drugs like Ozempic.
  • The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act could mandate government coverage for obesity medications for 74% of Americans, costing over $3 trillion annually without addressing underlying health issues.
  • Ozempic’s maker, Novo Nordisk, has become a top lobbying spender in the U.S., pushing for expanded drug coverage while downplaying significant side effects like muscle loss, suicidal thoughts and increased cancer risk.
  • Naturally increasing GLP-1 levels through gut bacteria like Akkermansia muciniphila offers an alternative to Ozempic, promoting overall gut health without the risks associated with long-term pharmaceutical use.

The rise of Ozempic and similar drugs for weight loss involves fraud of unprecedented scale that could have devastating consequences for millions of Americans, especially children.

Ozempic, a drug initially developed for diabetes, has become a sensation for weight loss. Its popularity has skyrocketed, with everyone from celebrities to college students clamoring for prescriptions — but at what cost?

The active ingredient in Ozempic is part of a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists.

These drugs stimulate hormones in your digestive system that signal fullness. While this makes it easier for people to eat less and lose weight, the reality is far more complex and concerning.

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Must Be Election Year: Biden’s DHS Freezes Immigrant Parole Program Due to Fraud

It must be election year.

The Biden regime has temporarily frozen the CHNV Parole Program to due concerns of fraud. It’s hard to imagine they would care about a program that has currently flown over 500,000 people into the US when they have let well over 10 to 12 million illegals cross the border in the last few years.

The CHNV Parole Program, permits up to 30,000 people to be flown into the US each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they meet certain qualifications. It originally started in 2022 with Venezuela, then included Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua by early 2023.

Fox News Reported:

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden administration has put a controversial program that allows tens of thousands of migrants from four nations to fly or travel directly into the U.S. on hold, after a report circulated internally showing significant amounts of fraud in the program.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that “out of an abundance of caution,” it has temporarily paused the issuing of advance travel authorizations for the program — which allows up to 30,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to travel into the U.S. each month and enter legally under the administration’s use of parole if they meet certain conditions.

A congressional source had told Fox News Digital the pause came in mid-July after an internal report unearthed large amounts of fraud in applications for those sponsoring the applicants. DHS said the pause was occurring as it reviewed sponsor applications. The focus is on issues with supporter filings, and not with the filings from the beneficiaries of the program themselves.

“A congressional source tells Fox News Digital that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped issuing travel authorizations to Venezuelans on July 6 and authorizations for the three remaining nationalities on July 18,” Fox News reported.

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‘Complete menace to society’: Purported ‘psychic’ behind elaborate $4 million conspiracy sentenced

Recalling the Gypsy curse in Stephen King’s novel “Thinner,” a self-professed psychic “raised by parents who quite literally taught her how to con people out of money under the guise of the Gypsy-Romani culture” learned her own fate this week in a $4 million conspiracy.

Gina Rita Russell, 35, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years and five months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4.2 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.

“Russell has proven herself to be a complete menace to society, a true danger to any person unfortunate enough to believe that she has actual psychic ability,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memo, arguing for a 151-month sentence or more than 12 ½ years behind bars. “Russell is a master manipulator who has shown no genuine remorse for her horrific criminal conduct, no respect for the rule of law, and no intention of behaving in a law-abiding manner.”

She was indicted in 2018 on a slew of charges, including conspiracy, extortion, fraud, money laundering, and tampering with a witness. Also indicted were Russell’s ex-common-law husband, his two brothers and the brothers’ parents, whom authorities called the “Russell-Evans-Kaslov family.” The others pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

Prosecutors said they did it for expensive jewelry, cars, luxury vacations, and fine dining — a lifestyle they craved but did not earn.

“Russell and members of the Evans/Kaslov family have a penchant for the finer things in life but are averse to engaging in honest work, choosing to callously use people instead,” prosecutors said in their memo.

Court documents outline the $4 million caper and its origins, which date back to October 2009, when Russell met a woman in Manhattan and performed a psychic reading on her. Russell told the woman that bad things would happen to her or her family if money and items were not provided.

At one point, Russell had the woman beat herself to drive “the demons out which would make her feel better,” court documents said.

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‘Highly Confidential’: Former FDA Chief Details Fraud in Merck’s Testing, Marketing of Mumps Vaccine

For decades, Merck misrepresented the efficacy of its mumps vaccine, marketing an “adulterated” drug without proven efficacy to millions of American children, according to a recently released expert report by Dr. David Kessler, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The report — posted in two documents and marked “highly confidential,” for “attorneys’ eyes only” — provides over 800 pages of Kessler’s opinion and analysis about the history and severity of Merck’s regulatory violations over decades, beginning in the late 1990s.

By 1998, regulatory labeling review had revealed that the mumps component of Merck’s measles, mumps rubella vaccine, MMRII, did not maintain the stated potency over its shelf-life, in violation of FDA regulations.

Rather than recalling the vaccine or attempting to develop a different formula, the company spent years trying to develop new and more sensitive ways to test the existing vaccine that would show high efficacy results, so it would still be in compliance with regulatory requirements and allow Merck to maintain its exclusive license.

Merck did this even though its existing data showed the vaccine was significantly less effective than claimed, Kessler wrote.

To temporarily make the drug meet Merck’s efficacy claims while the company developed tests, Merck increased the dosage of virus present in the vaccine — with the FDA’s knowledge — although the higher dosage was never tested in clinical trials for either safety or efficacy.

The company did not inform the vaccine recipients, providers or purchasers — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which purchased the drug through its Vaccines for Children Program — that its vaccine was out of compliance.

Merck’s actions, Kessler wrote, had important “public health significance.”

According to the report, starting in 2006 and recurring since then, there has been a resurgence of mumps outbreaks in the U.S. The largest outbreak in 2017 affected more than 10,000 people in 46 states.

The vast majority of the people infected in all of the outbreaks received the recommended two-dose regime of Merck’s MMR vaccine, the report says.

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“Kind Of Like Communist Housing Meets Corporate Housing”: Lennar Showcases New Texas Home-Builds

Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the US, showcases beautifully rendered images online of its new single-family homes in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. To prospective homeowners, the neighborhood appears picture-perfect for raising a family. 

However, Lance Lambert, the founder of the research firm ResiClub, pointed out on X that these tiny homes in the Risinger Court community are not as they appear online. 

Lambert shares a rendered image of one of the 763 sq ft homes, featuring two bedrooms and two bathrooms, side by side with an image of the same house in real life. 

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Arizona Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes to Launch Criminal Investigation into Gov. Katie Hobbs for Bribery and Fraud

Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes, who “won” the 2022 election by 280 votes from Trump-endorsed Abe Hamadeh, will launch a criminal investigation into Governor Katie Hobbs over a pay-to-play scheme.

As reported by The Gateway Pundit, these allegations stem from significant donations made to a dark money group, which was used for Hobbs’ inaugural events, potentially influencing state contract decisions.

Hobbs’ ethical conduct was called into question by GOP State Legislators after she solicited donations of up to $250,000 using a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group for inaugural events.

Interestingly, the nonprofit used by Hobbs shares an address with Coppersmith Brockelman PLC, the Democrat law firm that represented her in Kari Lake’s lawsuit challenging the 2022 midterm election results.

Among the donors to Hobbs’ inauguration were Sunshine Residential Homes and its affiliates, who contributed significant sums only to later receive a rate increase for their youth group home services.

According to The Arizona Republic reporter, Stacey Barchenger, “DCS approved what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day, meaning potentially millions of dollars more going to the company at taxpayers’ expense.”

Interestingly, no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.

Sunshine Residential Homes initially sought a 20% rate increase in December 2022 but was denied by DCS on February 6, 2023. Just three days later, Sunshine donated $100,000 to a dark-money fund created by Hobbs’ campaign. Notably, the company had only recently begun contributing to political campaigns in Arizona.

Sunshine made two six-figure donations totaling 200,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party when Hobbs was running for governor. Additionally, Sunshine’s CEO and his wife personally donated nearly the maximum amount, 5,000 each, to Hobbs’ campaign. After Hobbs’ election, the company donated another $200,000, half of which went directly to Hobbs’ inauguration fund through her dark money group.

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