Tag: taxes

Maduro Ally Pleads Guilty In Miami To Scheme That Stole Venezuelan Welfare Funds

The former minister of industry for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a global money laundering conspiracy that skimmed millions from a Venezuelan public welfare program.

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) news release, Alex Saab, 54, who was extradited from Venezuela in May and charged days later, conducted a decade-long scheme that defrauded a Venezuelan welfare program for food and medicine, netting hundreds of millions of dollars for himself and associates.

Saab, a Colombian businessman, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments before federal district Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.

“Criminals like Alex Saab who stole from the people of Venezuela and worked to exploit and misuse American financial institutions to fund illicit activities will be held accountable,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the news release.

Saab is accused of bilking the welfare program known as Local Committee for Supply and Production, or CLAP (Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción).

The ex-minister admitted to using a system of bribes and illegal payments to public officials. Entities controlled by conspirators in the scheme would be rewarded with lucrative contracts from the Venezuelan government to import food and medicine under CLAP.

Saab and his conspirators did not fulfill the contracts and would instead use fake companies, false invoices and shipping records, and other fraudulent documents to unlawfully obtain millions while concealing their association with the scheme, the DOJ said.

Saab further admitted he used shell companies outside his country to launder the illegal proceeds around the world, including in the United States.

DOJ Assistant Attorney General Andrew Duva said Saab exploited the American financial system to profit off Venezuelans, creating a “complex web of front companies, shell accounts, and false records to perpetuate his scheme.”

Saab previously was in U.S. custody until former President Joe Biden released him in December 2023 as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela. The deal included the Venezuelan regime’s release of 30 prisoners, including 10 Americans.

“The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela celebrates with joy the liberation and return to his homeland of our diplomat Alex Saab, who until today was unjustly kidnapped in a U.S. jail,” the Venezuelan government said following the prisoner-swap deal.

Saab was removed from his position earlier this year by acting leader Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president until he was captured by U.S. forces in an overnight raid on Caracas in January.

Saab was initially charged in July 2019 on money laundering counts.

He was detained about a year later in the Republic of Cabo Verde at the request of the U.S. government and was eventually extradited to American custody.

“President Biden granted Alex Saab clemency while he was awaiting trial in [Miami], and Saab was released from federal custody and returned to Venezuela. But that was not the end of the story,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.

Quiñones’s office secured a new indictment against Saab in January 2026, and by May he was back in Miami federal court.

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Grandmother jailed for six months after facial recognition mistake launches $10 million lawsuit against Fargo and detective

A Tennessee grandmother who spent six months in jail after facial recognition tech falsely linked her to a North Dakota bank fraud investigation now wants compensation for what happened. Angela Lipps is suing the City of Fargo and a Fargo Police Department detective for $10 million over the incident, which led to the loss of her home, car, and dog.

In July 2025, a team of US Marshals arrested 50-year-old Lipps in Tennessee at gunpoint while she was babysitting four young children. She was booked into the county jail in Tennessee as a fugitive from justice wanted in North Dakota.

The arrest stemmed from an investigation into bank fraud cases in April and May 2025. Detectives reportedly reviewed video of a woman using a fake US army ID to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars.

By using facial recognition software, the investigators identified Lipps as a possible match. She was charged with eight felonies, the most serious of which carried a 10-year prison sentence.

But Lipps had never been to North Dakota in her life, and bank records later confirmed she was more than 1,200 miles away at the time of the alleged crime.

She was held in a Tennessee county jail for 108 days before being transported to North Dakota. Jail staff allegedly denied her access to her dentures and medication for extended periods.

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Don’t Look Away

After spending millions of dollars redecorating the White House and transforming D.C. monuments, President Trump approved, on September 15, 2026, an additional 2.8 billion dollar sale of heavy bombs to Israel, including 40,000 one-ton bombs, 20,000 of the 2,000 lb. bombs, and 20,000 bunker-busting penetrator warheads. Israel has used these bombs to destroy homes, families and crucial infrastructure in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

This latest U.S. weapons package will replenish Israel’s stockpile of bombs that human rights groups have condemned after documenting their use over the past two and a half years to kill, maim, bereave, and forcibly displace Palestinians. Survivors whose homes have been reduced to rubble now live in makeshift shelters, including flimsy tents, while Israel continues to restrict deliveries of supplies that could protect Gazans from harsh weather, disease, rodent and insect infestations, and other hardships of displacement.

In June of 2026, the Norwegian Refugee Council estimated that 170,000 households in Gaza, equivalent to nearly one million people, were living in tents. “Another 5,000 households sleep outdoors,” they reported, “while 52,000 households live in overcrowded shelters.” As Gazans enter the rainy and cold months of winter, they still lack emergency shelter items. They need plastic sheeting, plywood, and rope. Genocidal war and siege drive the crisis they face as the Israelis continue destroying Gazan homes and shelters and imposing restrictions which block desperately needed relief.

Over the past two years, members of the Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine coalition have held weekly online meetings with Palestinians living in the West Bank. They update our coordinating committee about their experiences amidst ongoing, U.S. provisioned Israeli genocide against Palestinians. They speak with anguish about people in the West Bank and Gaza enduring persecution, travel restrictions, hunger, inadequate medical care, land theft, contamination, and an alarming rise in pogrom-style attacks by illegal settlers who are often assisted by Israeli military and police forces.

Our Palestinian coalition members living in the West Bank long to extend a helping hand to people trapped in Gaza. They recently raised the dilemma of Gazan children who have already lost years of education. Many live in wretched tent encampments, lack adequate food and medicine, and struggle with psycho-social traumas because of having lost their loved ones.

A Palestinian NGO, PYALARA, (Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights) suggested that our coalition could assist with practical measures to assist Gazan children who are eager to learn but who lack basic school supplies. The children are bereft of paper, pencils, pens, books, desks, and bookbags.

Recently, for UN News, an interviewer spoke with Julia Dicon, the Director of Education for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Association). Dicon described what education means for Palestine refugee children and why sustained support is critical. She expressed deep respect for the many ways that Palestinians maintain capacities to educate their children, even in these dire times.

The interviewer asked her to tell a story about Palestinian young people who represent courage in the face of unspeakable adversity as they continue efforts to learn and teach.

Dicon talked about two Gazan sisters, 17-year-old Tala Mousa and her 15-year-old sister, Farah Mousa, who were recently named winners of the 2026 Middle East Earth Prize. The young women regularly looked at rubble surrounding their home which Israel had bombed. Unlike President Trump who is undertaking expensive and unnecessary renovations, they longed to rebuild homes which Israelis decimated, using U.S. manufactured bombs.  Fala and Farah puzzled over how they and their neighbors could begin creating the indispensable equipment to reconstruct housing: bricks. Together, using their scientific knowledge, they developed a practical way to transform rubble into reusable blocks for garden beds, pavement, and partitions.

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USDA Says Crackdown On SNAP Fraud Prevented $5.8 Billion In Taxpayer Losses

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced nearly $6 billion in total savings tied to efforts to eliminate fraud in the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Rollins outlined the wins in a Sept. 15 post to X, saying that $5.8 billion in taxpayer losses have been prevented by the anti-fraud initiatives implemented during President Donald Trump’s second term.

This was done through the shutdown of nearly 1,840 illegal SNAP devices that processed Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and the disqualification of 5,335 fraudulent retailers.

“Those who defraud SNAP are stealing from taxpayers and taking resources away from Americans who genuinely need assistance,” Rollins said. “We have zero tolerance for this abuse, and we will continue pursuing bad actors and protecting the integrity of the program.”

There are several ways an ineligible person can be counted in SNAP, including illegal immigrants being certified in error or by fraud, and deceased household members continuing to receive benefits.

This comes just over three months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report in early June about their discovery that 185,986 deceased people in 29 states were receiving food stamps.

Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 directing federal agencies to obtain lawful and “unfettered access” to data from federally-funded programs such as SNAP to facilitate an audit of government spending.

The SNAP integrity team was created in May 2025 to review state SNAP data against federal databases to identify potential fraud.

The maximum monthly food assistance offered through SNAP is set for its annual increase in line with the cost-of-living adjustment in October.

The benefit ceiling for a family of four will reach $1,023 for most of the nation, which is an increase from the current maximum of $994. Total benefits vary based on family size and income. In May 2026, the average monthly benefit received by U.S. households was $344.51.

The overall cost of the monthly SNAP benefits have fallen in recent years, from $13.4 billion in October 2022 to $6.8 billion in May 2026, largely because pandemic emergency allotments largely ended in 2023 and fewer people on the program.

Separate state cost-sharing penalties for high payment-error rates, enacted by the Republican-led Congress in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are scheduled to begin in October 2027. More than 40 states and territories recorded SNAP payment-error rates above 6 percent in fiscal year 2025, the level that triggers the penalty.

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Rep. Meeks puts hold on Trump’s reported $2.8B weapons sale to Israel

The ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday that he was putting a hold on the Trump administration’s plan to sell 40,000 one-ton bombs to Israel for a reported price of $2.8 billion.

Meeks posted a statement to X that while he is firmly committed to Israel’s security and its ability to defend itself, he is concerned about the risk to civilian lives, citing Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, and against Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

“I therefore will not clear this sale at this time. The decision does not diminish Congressional support for Israel’s legitimate defense needs; it reflects Congress’s responsibility to ensure that U.S.-funded weapons are used lawfully, responsibly, and with meaningful safeguards for human life,” said Meeks. 

His decision to go public with his opposition, which typically occurs behind the scenes in an attempt to find a compromise, according to The Hill, is based on frustration with both the Trump administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  

The weapons package, first reported by the Washington Post, includes 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s. It also includes 20,000 I2000 Penetrator warheads, the Post reported. 

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Calif.: Feds raid L.A. nonprofit figures in sweep over multi-million dollar homeless fraud scheme

In a dramatic sweep on Wednesday, federal agents reportedly dismantled a multi-million-dollar corruption network embedded within Los Angeles’ homelessness services sector.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tactical units in Kevlar vests, armed with rifles and bullhorns, descended on multiple South Los Angeles residences to arrest figures accused of skimming taxpayer funds meant to shelter the city’s homeless residents.

The operation targeted figures linked to contracts administered by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), revealing a deep web of kickbacks, “ghost” participants and lavish personal spending — funded by public aid.

Among those taken into custody during the morning raids was 48-year-old Lakiya Malone, an employee at Special Service for Groups (SSG), a nonprofit operating under LAHSA-funded programs.

Federal prosecutors say that Malone accepted over $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks to approve priority referrals and fabricate ghost participants — which are individuals who never actually received or resided in subsidized housing — to funnel millions in public funds into corrupt hands.

Malone was escorted out of her Westmont residence in handcuffs as First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and other law enforcement officers oversaw the arrest.

Simultaneously, federal agents also swarmed the Baldwin Hills residence of 46-year-old Michael Young, founder of the nonprofit Home At Last. Federal prosecutors charged Young with wire fraud, alleging that he misappropriated more than $7.5 million in public homelessness funds using a network of shell companies and fraudulent billing practices.

Rather than providing shelter, Young purportedly funneled the public cash into commercial real estate, a bingo hall, private vacations and over $1 million to build and operate a restaurant and nightclub called Six Seven Five Lounge in Inglewood.

The sweeps are tied to an expansive, ongoing federal probe into Southern California homeless service providers, which previously ensnared Alexander Soofer, the former executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Blessings.

Soofer, who was charged with orchestrating a $23 million fraud scheme to buy a $7 million Westwood home and finance luxury travel, agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering while admitting to his role in paying kickbacks to Malone.

Meanwhile, authorities are also searching for a third defendant in the new indictment, Donye Mitchell, 55, who faces federal charges for allegedly fraudulent grant applications exceeding $1.2 million.

Federal officials noted that the exploitation of homeless aid exemplifies a major breach of public trust, promising further action as investigations into L.A.’s homeless aid system continue.


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Ottawa’s $1.4B research fund bankrolls climate comics, dancefloor studies, Trudeau speech analysis and ancient beer research

Ottawa’s $1.4-billion social sciences research program is funding studies into Arctic climate comics, Canadian dancefloors, low-carbon videogames and the “contested meaning” of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s speeches.

A Canadian Taxpayers Federation analysis of federal grant data found the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council awarded $43,693 to an Ottawa professor who plans to analyze 326 Trudeau speeches.

The research will track Trudeau’s use of words including “feminist,” “reconciliation,” “protest” and “freedom.”

“Studies about climate comics and the state of Canadian dancefloors don’t sound like studies that matter most to Canadians like the government claims,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.

Other grants include $78,623 to study the “state of the dancefloor in Canada,” $79,999 for research into “nasal harmony in Amazonian languages” and $88,591 to examine Arctic climate comics.

Concordia University professor Antonia Hernández received $99,850 for a project called A Liquid Frontier: Water Governance through Choral Storytelling. One of the project’s co-applicants is a theatre professor specializing in puppetry.

An Alberta-based professor received $37,275 for a “Low-Carbon Game Jam.” Her previous work included placing a solar-powered server on an apartment balcony to host video games, even though the server can shut down during dark or cloudy weather.

Another $70,529 will fund research into the “sounds of horror cinema.”

The taxpayers’ group identified at least 50 projects concerning other countries that collectively received nearly $3.9 million. They include $93,467 for a digital edition of a 1908 book about Sri Lankan art, $65,833 to study Western-style sweets in Japan and $30,987 for research into “struggling temple brewers in sixth century BCE Mesopotamia.”

“A government that can find $30,987 for temple brewers in ancient Mesopotamia can find savings for Canadian taxpayers,” Terrazzano said.

The council has previously funded studies into the “birth, life and death” of a grocery cart, gender politics in Peruvian rock music and casual sex among young adults living in Jasper.

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Covert Pentagon propagandists are tracking anti-war Americans, skirting the law

In mid-August, a conservative activist using the digital moniker “Datarepublican” quietly admitted she was employed by the Pentagon as a “special government employee.” For months, she’d been pocketing a government paycheck while intensely lobbying for President Trump’s imperialist misadventures online and tracking their most vocal critics in a digital database.

Datarepublican was identified in 2025 as Jennica Pounds, a Utah-based mother with nearly a million followers whose stated raison d’etre is “fighting communists” – a moniker she applies liberally to anyone perceptibly to the left of Barry Goldwater.

And she’s not alone. Pounds has emerged as the face of a new wave of right-wing influencers who are being covertly employed by the US Department of War to spread pro-government propaganda. On August 29th, Washington Post reporters revealed at least three more digital activists are surreptitiously working for the Pentagon, which designates them as either special government employees (SGEs) or as what the US military calls “highly qualified experts” (HQEs).

Named in the Pentagon’s army of influencers were retired Air Force colonel Rob Maness, and retired Army colonels Kurt Schlichter and Thomas Anderson. Like Pounds, Anderson also operated in relative anonymity until recently, posting under the Twitter handle “Cynical Publius.” Schlicter, for his part, is a prolific right-wing troll who has frequently fantasized about the ethnic cleansing and extermination of Palestinians.

The operation appears to be in breach of two federal laws, the Hatch Act and the Smith-Mundt Act, which prohibit government employees from engaging in political activities while on the clock, and forbid them from directing their propaganda efforts at the US population, respectively.

The aforementioned right-wing activists are the only ones known to have been working secretly for the Department of War. But the revelations about paid Pentagon propaganda posters come as the US military pursues a flurry of murky partnerships with prominent conservative influencers like top TPUSA widow Erika Kirk, who was appointed to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors by Trump in March in an effort to further slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s “legacy.”

Then there’s Laura Loomer, the obsessively anti-Muslim Trump ally, who is producing de facto press releases for self-proclaimed “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth, enjoying Pentagon press credentials, and earning references as an “informal advisor to the Department of War.”

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Pentagon’s Iran war costs hit $38 billion in five months – budget office

The US war with Iran cost the Pentagon approximately $38 billion in its first five months, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill could rise by another $2 billion to $3 billion for every additional month of fighting – and by more if hostilities intensify.

In a report released on Tuesday, the CBO estimated Defense Department expenses from the start of US combat operations on February 28 through August 1. The figure includes the estimated cost of replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, as well as additional flying hours, military operations, and higher fuel costs.

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Mapped: The U.S. States Hit Hardest by Canada’s Tariffs

Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada have broken down, with Canada responding to broad U.S. duties with dollar-for-dollar tariffs on key American products.

This map shows the value of exports in each U.S. state covered by Canadian counter-tariffs, using the latest data from BBC for September 2026 from Scotiabank and Statistics Canada. Figures are in U.S. dollars.

States are shaded according to the value of their exports to Canada that are subject to Canadian duties.

Tariff Blues in the Midwest

The Great Lakes region stands out on the map, reflecting its central role in the roughly $870 billion bilateral trading relationship.

Ohio and Illinois have more exports covered by Canadian tariffs than any other states, at $2.3 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively. They are followed by Pennsylvania at $1.8 billion.

The table below lists each state alongside the value of its exports covered by the new Canadian tariffs.

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