Tag: taxes

Audits Spotlight Unusual Trends In Medicaid Spending For Autism Care

One in 31 U.S. children has an autism diagnosis. Among Minnesota’s Somali community, that number jumps to one in 12.

That discrepancy made headlines last fall when the Department of Justice charged a Somali woman with netting millions in fraudulent autism services.

Now, state and federal investigators are putting autism spending in the spotlight.

The September 2025 federal indictment alleged that a therapy center—run by 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan—recruited Somali children for an autism services program that was then reimbursed by Medicaid.

The White House pointed to the indictment on March 16 in an executive order announcing the creation of a federal task force to eliminate fraud.

“The staggering fraud and waste in Minnesota alone is a case in point,”  the order reads.

“There is also strong reason to believe that similar problems exist in other States, including California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado.”

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‘Borderline Barbaric’: Troubled Dem Payroll Vendor Accused of Punishing Employees For Taking Paid Family Leave

The human resources software company Rippling emerged as a top Democratic Party vendor after receiving tax breaks from Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul. It’s also accused of cultivating a “borderline barbaric” culture that penalizes employees who take paid family leave, according to lawsuits and complaints from several former employees.

Newsom and Hochul, the Free Beacon’s Andrew Kerr reports, awarded Rippling nearly $20 million in combined tax breaks between 2023 and 2025, money that helped the firm build offices in San Francisco and New York City. ActBlue and the DNC have processed more than $23 million in payroll expenditures through Rippling in the 2026 midterm election cycle, campaign finance disclosures show. And while Newsom and Hochul have made expanded paid family leave a cornerstone of their political platforms, Rippling is accused of taking a different approach.

Former employees have alleged in lawsuits that the company fired them after they took family leave or expressed their intention to do so. A March 2025 suit from former engineering manager Fu Zhou alleged that she was fired after taking medical leave to undergo IVF treatments—and that her replacement, a man, was terminated “shortly after expressing his own intention to take family leave.” An anonymous former employee, meanwhile, posted on the employer review site GlassDoor describing the company as “borderline barbaric in today’s workplace culture.”

Rippling responded to the Free Beacon with a legal letter from the leading defamation lawyer Tom Clare, whose firm ClareLocke represented Matt Lauer amid his #MeToo battles, former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler amid revelations of her close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and former Harvard president Claudine Gay amid her plagiarism scandal. Clare, who penned a seven-page letter filled with veiled legal threats—and marked “Confidential—Not For Publication Or Attribution,” a condition to which the Free Beacon did not agree—said the Free Beacon did not afford the company adequate time to comment, demanded the Free Beacon “identify all its sources,” and said Rippling could not comment on pending litigation anyway.

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Key Trump agency unleashes probe on blue state over potential race-based mortgage aid: ‘DEI is dead’

The Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Tuesday that it launched an investigation into a Washington state housing program the agency accused of potentially providing subsidized mortgage assistance to people based on race. 

The Washington State Housing Finance Commission was alerted this week that HUD’s Office for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity would be investigating its Covenant Homeownership Program. The program was established by the state legislature in 2023, which commissioned a report to investigate alleged housing discrimination in the state and how to remedy it. In particular, the program wanted to address racially restrictive housing covenants embedded in the state’s history, which became unenforceable following a Supreme Court ruling in 1948 and were voided altogether in 1969.

The housing program was launched a year later for first-time homebuyers considered “people of color and other historically marginalized communities.” It offered zero-interest loans of up to $150,000 for down payments and closing costs, and the loans did not need to be repaid until the homeowners sold or refinanced the properties, according to Seattle King County REALTORS. 

“Generations of systemic, racist, and discriminatory policies have formed barriers to homeownership for Black, Indigenous, and people of color and other historically marginalized communities in Washington state,” Washington Democrat Jamila Taylor said of the bill to establish the program that she helped introduce. “Historically, redlining, racially restrictive covenants, mortgage subsidies and incentives, and displacement have been explicitly outlined practices. To date, racially restricted covenants have been identified in more than 40,000 property deeds across the state.”

But according to HUD, applicants in the program do not need to be from low-income areas, as the income ceiling for the program is 120% of the median income for the area. The agency said in order to qualify, applicants have to have a parent or grandparent of Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, or Indian descent. Meanwhile, HUD highlighted that persons of European, Japanese, Arab, or Jewish ancestry did not appear to qualify for the program.

HUD also points out, citing directions from the Washington housing commission on how to apply for the Covenant Homeownership Program, that the only application process for the program is to call a hotline where prospective applicants speak to “a Commission-trained lender” who then determines whether people meet the program’s eligibility requirements.

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SNAP Fraud Cleanup in Progress: 3.3 Million Less Dependents on Taxpayers’ Dime

New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dropped to approximately 39.5 million people in December 2025, marking the first time enrollment has fallen below 40 million since September 2024.

Maria Bartiromo highlighted the figures during a televised interview, stating, “The US, Department of Agriculture tracking the latest on SNAP enrollment numbers, December data shows roughly 39 and a half million participants.”

She noted the significance of the decline, adding, “First time it’s been under 40 million since September of 24.”

Bartiromo also raised questions about a reported case involving a wealthy individual qualifying for benefits. “In Minnesota, one millionaire says he discovered a loophole which allowed him to qualify for food stamps,” she said.

Describing the situation further, she said, “Millionaire, he described the process to Fox News digital as fraud by design.”

Bartiromo explained how eligibility rules played a role, stating, “He qualified for the program based on income, not assets, and with low retirement income, he was accepted.”

She added that the individual later gave away the benefits, saying, “He ended up donating all of the money and the benefits to charity.”

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Louisville pays $800,000 to Christian wedding photographer who challenged pro-LGBT law

The city of Louisville, Kentucky has agreed to a settlement with a Christian wedding photographer who challenged an ordinance forcing her to work at homosexual “wedding” ceremonies, under which the city must pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Chelsey Nelson, who owns a photography studio in Louisville, sued the city in 2019 over its “Fairness Ordinance,” which stated that businesses cannot deny a customer “full and equal” enjoyment of goods, services, privileges, advantages, or public accommodations on the basis of various attributes, including sexual orientation. It also forbade businesses from publishing communications suggesting such “discrimination.”

According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented her, this meant that Nelson not only had to photograph homosexual “weddings,” but that she could not publicly explain why she wanted to only photograph monogamous male-female unions. The ordinance had not yet been enforced against Nelson, but she filed the preemptive suit to protect herself against future encroachments.

Last October, Western District of Kentucky Judge Benjamin Beaton affirmed past rulings that found the city could not force Nelson to violate her religious beliefs, supported by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in a separate case that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protected a Christian web designer’s right not to produce websites for homosexual “weddings.”

On Tuesday, ADF announced Louisville’s agreement to pay the attorneys’ fees, in a settlement notice that confirmed the injunction against the ordinance will remain in effect. 

“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said. “For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs. Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.”

“Because marriage is so important to me, I’m careful to photograph and blog about each of these solemn ceremonies in a way that reflects my views of marriage,” Nelson has previously explained. She added that her business is willing to serve anyone but cannot serve every wedding and also refuses heterosexual weddings with trivial themes, such as Halloween or zombies.

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Whistleblower Points Finger at Gavin Newsom as Congress Digs Into California Hospice Fraud

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said his committee is focusing its investigation on alleged large-scale hospice fraud in California following a state audit that identified billions in questionable spending.

During a televised exchange, Sandra Smith introduced the issue by pointing to the scope of the allegations, stating, “California focusing on allegations of rampant hospice fraud, another wasteful spending on taxpayer dollars.”

Smith then asked Comer about the direction of the investigation, saying, “Let’s bring in our House Oversight Committee Chairman, James Comer, welcome to you, Mr. Chairman. So where is your energy focused here?”

Comer responded by outlining the committee’s current priorities, saying, “We’re focused solely on hospice fraud in California, specifically in Los Angeles County.”

He referenced the findings of a recent audit, stating, “A state audit just came out and confirmed that there’s at least three and a half billion dollars, billion dollars in hospice fraud, primarily in one county, Los Angeles County, in California.”

Comer emphasized the scale of the alleged fraud relative to federal spending, saying, “That three and a half billion dollar price tag represents over 10% of the total bill for the federal government, for hospice in all 50 states, in every city and every state in America.”

He said the audit raised clear concerns about systemic issues, stating, “So the red flags are there that there was rampant fraud.”

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U.S. intercepted Ukraine government messages discussing plot to route money to Biden re-election

U.S. intelligence intercepted Ukrainian government communications discussing a plot to route hundreds of millions of American tax dollars earmarked for clean energy in the war-torn country and move them to the United States to enrich then-President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to a declassified intelligence report summarizing the intercepts that was obtained by Just the News.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently learned of the intercepts and has asked the U.S. Agency for International Development officials to scour for records to see if the plot actually was carried out and whether a criminal referral should be made to the FBI.

Gabbard’s team has not found substantive evidence the intercepted allegations were thoroughly investigated during the Biden administration, and the communications are not believed to be tied to Russian disinformation efforts, officials said.

USAID involved in routing the money, memo alleges

The declassified report is a summary of raw intercepts from U.S. spy agencies in late 2022 concerning the alleged plot, and officials who have reviewed the files said there seemed to be a lack of curiosity to investigate such an explosive allegation of foreign interference in a U.S. election.

“The Ukrainian Government and unspecified U.S. Government personnel, through USAID in Kyiv, reportedly developed a plan that would provide hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars to fund an infrastructure project for Ukraine that would be used as a cover to send approximately 90% of funds allocated to the DNC to fund Joe Biden’s reelection campaign,” the declassified summary of the intercepts stated.

“They were confident the project would be funded initially, even though at some time in the future the project would be disapproved as unnecessary.  At this time, the money would already be allocated and impossible to return or use for a different purpose,” the report added.

The intercepts mentioned two American subcontractors as possible recipients of the money that would eventually be moved to Democratic coffers, officials said. The names are included in still classified raw spy data but were redacted from the declassified report obtained by Just the News.

“The plan included details of how subcontractors would be funded through U.S. companies so that how the funds were spent and allocated would be difficult to track,” the declassified summary stated. “Additionally, contracts would be executed that would be difficult to verify. In this manner, most of the U.S. funding would be diverted to Joe Biden’s election campaign without the ability to track where exactly the funds came from.”

The discovery of alleged 2022 efforts by Ukraine to help Biden’s 2024 campaign comes at a sensitive time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been working closely with President Donald Trump’s envoys to craft a peace plan to end the four-year war started by Russian aggression in 2022 during the Biden Administration.

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The Stealing of America: You’re Not a Citizen—You’re a Revenue Stream for the Power Elite

“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.”—Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

You’re not imagining it.

Everything costs more. Everything is monitored.

Everything feels like it’s designed to take—from your wallet, your time, your freedom.

That’s because it is.

The government has turned everyday life into a revenue stream—funding endless wars, bloated agencies, surveillance systems, and profit-driven policing… all on your dime.

You’re not just paying taxes. You’re paying to be watched. Paying to be policed. Paying to be controlled.

This isn’t government. It’s a business model.

By now, it has become painfully clear that the only economic plan being advanced by the Trump administration is the kind that enriches the oligarchy at the expense of everyone else.

If the government’s newly dubbed “war on waste,” headed by Vice President J.D. Vance, is anything like its deceptively futile past efforts to drain the swamp and use DOGE to cut spending that is inefficient, we should expect to see corruption, graft and waste rise while vital programs that benefit the taxpayer get slashed.

The level of self-serving corruption, indulgence and excess by the elite ruling class while Americans struggle to make ends meet is off the charts.

Under President Trump, his gilding of the White House has coincided with the dawn of a new self-serving age of indulgence for the American oligarchy. As Debbie Millman writes for the New York Times: “Trump is showing the world that his presidency is a royal court where a select few are invited to pledge their allegiance… Trump is refashioning the presidential residence into a palace; our democracy is now a members-only club.”

This is Donald Trump’s “let them eat cake” moment.

Tens of millions in one year alone for the president’s weekend golf trips while government agencies are dismantled and tens of thousands of federal workers have their jobs slashed. According to the web tracker “Did Trump Golf Today?” Trump has spent 23.5% of his presidency golfing at an estimated cost of $141 million to the taxpayer.

An extra $200 billion in additional defense funding so Pete Hegseth can make a game out of war with Iran. More than $16 billion was spent in the first 12 days of Trump’s war on Iran. That does not include the rising cost of gas and consumer goods or the long-term costs of supporting those injured in the war.

$1 billion to a French company to not develop two wind projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York.

$14 billion in oil revenue to Iran to fund its war with the U.S. 

$22 million in one month on lobsters and ribeye steak so the Defense Department wouldn’t have to risk losing some of their taxpayer-funded budget. $1.8 million for musical instruments, including a “$98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 custom handmade flute from the luxury Japanese brand Muramatsu.”

$400 million for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom to which most taxpayers will never be invited.

$75 – $150 million to turn a public golf course into a championship-level golf course in the nation’s capital.

$100 million for a 250-foot “Arc de Trump” next to Arlington National Cemetery.

At least $60 million for a UFC event on the White House South Lawn to commemorate Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

While members of Trump’s inner circle dine on lobster and filet mignon, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests that Americans struggling with the high cost of beef instead buy and eat “cheap cuts” like liver.

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Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the first ever Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald to investigate fraud nationwide in a 52-47 vote.

In January, President Trump announced he nominated Colin McDonald to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement.

“I am pleased to nominate Colin McDonald to serve as the first ever Assistant Attorney General for National FRAUD Enforcement, a new Division at the Department of Justice, which I created to catch and stop FRAUDSTERS that have been STEALING from the American People,” Trump said.

“My Administration has uncovered Fraud schemes in States like Minnesota and California, where these thieves have stolen Hundreds of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars. Colin McDonald is a very Smart, Tough, and Highly Respected AMERICA FIRST Federal Prosecutor who has successfully delivered Justice in some of the most difficult and high stakes cases our Country has ever seen. Together, we will END THE FRAUD, and RESTORE INTEGRITY to our Federal Programs. Congratulations Colin — STOP THE SCAMS!” Trump said.

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NASA to spend $20 billion on moon base, cancel orbiting lunar space station

NASA announced on Tuesday it has canceled plans ​to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use components from the project to build ‌a $20 billion base on the moon’s surface, while also planning to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars.

U.S. space agency chief Jared Isaacman, an appointee of President Donald Trump who took charge at NASA in December, announced an array of changes to the Artemis moon program including an aim to send more robotic ​landers to the moon and lay the groundwork for using nuclear power on the lunar surface.

NASA also disclosed plans to ​launch a spacecraft called Space Reactor 1 Freedom to Mars before the end of 2028 in a ⁠mission it said would demonstrate advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. NASA called this a major step forward in bringing nuclear ​power and propulsion from the laboratory to space. NASA said the spacecraft, once it reaches Earth’s planetary neighbor, will deploy helicopters for ​exploring Mars.

The Lunar Gateway station, largely already built with contractors Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), opens new tab and Intuitive Machines (LUNR.O), opens new tab subsidiary Lanteris Space Systems, was meant to be a space station in a lunar orbit.

“It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained ​operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman told a crowd of foreign delegates, companies and journalists at a day-long event at NASA’s headquarters ​in Washington.

Repurposing Lunar Gateway to create a base on the moon’s surface – a difficult undertaking – leaves uncertain the future roles of Japan, Canada and the ‌European Space ⁠Agency in the Artemis program, three key NASA partners that had agreed to provide components for the orbital station.

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