Tag: taxes

INSANITY IN ILLINOIS: Oak Lawn to PAY $825,000 to Armed Suspect Hadi Abuatelah Who Fled Police During Arrest

The small Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn has agreed to pay a massive $825,000 settlement to a convicted suspect, Hadi Abuatelah, who fled from police after a traffic stop, ran from officers, and was carrying a loaded firearm.

The incident took place in July 2022 when Oak Lawn police initiated a traffic stop after reportedly smelling marijuana coming from Abuatelah’s vehicle.

When Abuatelah, then 17, bolted from the car, officers chased him and subdued him after a foot pursuit, and when they caught him, they found a loaded pistol in his bag.

During the arrest, body-cam video shows officers punching the teen repeatedly, including more than ten blows to the head and face, while restraining him on the ground.

The teen was hospitalized for six days with a broken nose, skull and pelvic fractures, brain swelling, and other serious injuries.

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Michigan wasted millions on deceased Medicaid enrollees

Michigan made $39.9 million in Medicaid payments to deceased enrollees over a two-year period a decade ago, with a total of $249 million spent across 14 states.

This is according to a new report titled the “Welfare Walking Dead” from the non-profit the Foundation for Government Accountability, which looked at federal audit data from the Office of Inspector General, among other research.

In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, Jonathan Bain said that every taxpayer should be concerned with these findings. Bain is a senior research fellow at the FGA and authored the report.

“The average citizen should care about these findings because it’s yet another example of government waste that’s rooted in inefficiency and lack of care and precision,” Bain explained. “Every dollar that is lost to waste, fraud, or abuse is a dollar that cannot be spent to benefit the truly needy—folks like pregnant women, low-income kids, or seniors.”

Of the 14 states the audit looked at, the report found that Michigan reported one of the highest amounts of Medicaid payments to the deceased. States that surpassed it included California at $70.9 million and Ohio at $51.3 million.

Other states, including ones with much higher populations than Michigan, reported much lower Medicaid payments to the deceased. That included Florida at $26.2 million and Illinois at $4.6 million.

Bain said there is action that states can take to ensure fraud is not happening.

“States have the tools to identify these deceased enrollees,” he said. “The issue is that they either aren’t doing the proper cross checks to discover them, or their Medicaid Management Information Systems aren’t being updated to reflect that a deceased enrollee has been flagged.”

The report found that most of the states audited did not routinely enter death information into their Medicaid Management Information Systems.

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US FBI chief Patel under scrutiny for use of SWAT teams to protect his girlfriend

When Ms Alexis Wilkins, an aspiring country singer dating US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel, sang The Star-Spangled Banner at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention in Atlanta in the spring, she arrived with a formidable protective posse – a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team from the bureau’s local field office.

The two agents, members of a specialised unit trained to storm barricaded buildings and rescue hostages, had been sent there on Mr Patel’s orders. But seeing that the event at the Georgia World Congress Center had been secured, and that Ms Wilkins was in no apparent danger, they left before the event was over, according to six people with knowledge of the incident.

She noticed. So did her boyfriend.

Soon after, Mr Patel ripped into the team’s commander, saying that his girlfriend had been left without taxpayer-funded defenders, and slamming what he saw as failure to communicate their movements up the chain of command during her time on the convention floor – where she sang and chatted with attendees, the people said.

He was concerned that Ms Wilkins, a high-profile conservative, might be attacked by people who had threatened her online.

Mr Patel’s heavy use of US taxpayer-funded resources during his first nine months on the job has contributed to growing questions inside the administration about whether it exceeds the bounds of standard practice. This includes an intense use of security to protect himself and his girlfriend.

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Louisiana Woman Gets Over 4 Years in Federal Prison for $267K Pandemic Fraud

Reha Janee Arvie, age 35, of Westwego, LA, was sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud,  Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced. 

Court documents say that around July 2020, Arvie defrauded, and attempted to defraud various state offices of Unemployment Insurance through the submission of about 100 fraudulent UI applications. Arvie recruited friends and family, via Facebook, to file these fraudulent UI applications. 

Additionally, Arvie filed fraudulent UI applications for herself and others, in various states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, and the territory of Guam. Arvie charged those for whom she filed fraudulent UI claims fees, ranging from $1,200.00 to $1,500.00. For example, Arvie obtained $267,612.00 in UI benefits from California’s Employment Development Department. Moreover, during the investigation, Arvie lied to federal agents during an interview.

United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced Arvie to 52 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.   

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. 

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White House rehires hundreds of employees fired by Musk’s DOGE 

Hundreds of US federal employees dismissed during Elon Musk’s cost-cutting campaign are now being asked to return to work, the Associated Press has reported.

US President Donald Trump kicked off the waste-cutting effort a month after taking office, with the initiative being led by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk headed the department until June, when he stepped down amid mounting tensions with the president.

The reinstatement offers affect workers who previously oversaw federal office spaces, AP reported on Tuesday.

The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages government properties and acquisitions, has given the affected employees until the end of the week to decide. According to the outlet, those who accept must report back on October 6, following what has effectively been seven months’ paid leave. During that period, the GSA in some cases incurred high costs – passed along to taxpayers – for dozens of leases it had planned to terminate or allowed to expire.

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Co-Founder of Paycheck Protection Program Service Sentenced for $63M COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

A co-founder of a lender service provider was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program by $63 million.

Court documents say that Stephanie Hockridge, also known as Stephanie Reis, 42, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and previously of Arizona, co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020, purportedly to assist small businesses and individuals in obtaining PPP loans.

The U.S. Small Business Administration guaranteed the loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The defendant was also ordered to pay over $63 million in restitution.

Hockridge and her co-conspirators fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation and bank statements. Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged borrowers kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.

Hockridge and others offered a personalized service to their clients called “VIPPP” to help potential borrowers complete PPP loan applications. Hockridge recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coach borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. To get more kickbacks from borrowers and a higher percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Hockridge and her co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information. In total, Hockridge and her coconspirators processed over $63 million in fraudulent PPP loans.

On June 20, a jury found Hockridge guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas; Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don Daley of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Western Region; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Dallas Field Office made the announcement.

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New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherill Threatens to Withhold Federal Taxes to Resist Trump

The incoming governor of New Jersey is threatening to withhold federal taxes from the Trump administration.

In an interview with comedian Jon Stewart, Mikie Sherill said she had thought about witholding tax dollars “all the time” and concluded that is “great idea.”

“If they’re not gonna run the programs, then what are we paying them for?” she said.

“It’s like, you know, you’re paying us for a service and they’re not delivering. So let’s stop paying for it.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom has also floated withholding tax dollars, but this turned out to be an empty threat.

“We’re assessing it, we have looked into it, and Finance is looking across the spectrum of options,” he said in an interview with Politico back in June.

“But it’s limited, because most of that distribution and transfer comes from individual taxpayers,” he continued.

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Islamist groups in Texas rake in $13M in taxpayer-funded grants amid Abbott’s battle against Sharia law

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has taken aggressive action this week against Sharia law, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Yet critics are demanding to know why, during his time in office, millions in taxpayer-funded grants have been allocated to alleged Islamist organizations based in Texas.

Abbott announced on Tuesday that he had designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. The following day, Abbott urged local district attorneys to investigate potential Sharia “courts” operating in Texas and defying state and federal laws to push Islamic codes.

Despite Abbott’s recent actions, some have faulted the governor for allowing taxpayer dollars to be used to fund the uptick in Islamic mosques in Texas, citing a June report from the Middle East Forum. The article claimed Texas gave “over $13 million of federal and state monies to mosques and community groups aligned with Islamist movements such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as hostile foreign regimes.”

Of the 18 organizations that received funds, a dozen were said to have “extremist links.”

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An Intriguing Detail Emerges that Likely Explains the Exact Date Marjorie Taylor Greene has Chosen to Officially Resign from Congress

A fascinating detail has come into focus that almost certainly explains the exact timing of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation from Congress and raises questions about her true motivations for quitting.

As The Gateway Pundit’s Cassandra Macdonald reported, MTG declared in a stunning Friday night announcement that she is resigning from Congress effective January 5, 2026.

MTG posted a nearly 11-minute video and a four-page signed resignation letter to X, confirming the end of her five-year tenure representing Georgia’s 14th District.

The dramatic exit comes after Greene repeatedly demanded the immediate public release of the Jeffrey Epstein client list and files, which led to her being scolded and unendorsed by President Donald Trump in a series of posts to Truth Social.

“I’m going back to the people I love, to live life to the fullest as I always have, and look forward to a new path ahead. I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she said.

Following the news of MTG’s announcement, several Capitol Hill reporters noted that she timed her announcement JUST IN TIME for her to receive her federal pension.

Was it really just all about the money?

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DOJ sues California over in-state tuition, scholarships, subsidized loans for illegal immigrants

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California over state laws that are “unconstitutionally” providing in-state tuition, scholarships and subsidized loans to illegal immigrants.

According to the DOJ’s lawsuit filed Thursday, California’s laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens by not offering them the same in-state tuition, scholarships and subsidized loans as illegal immigrants.

“California is illegally discriminating against American students and families by offering exclusive tuition benefits for non-citizens,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “This marks our third lawsuit against California in one week — we will continue bringing litigation against California until the state ceases its flagrant disregard for federal law.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of California against the state of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), state Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), and the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Trustees of the California State University, and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

The DOJ has filed similar lawsuits in other states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas, The Hill news outlet reported.

“The DOJ has now filed three meritless, politically motivated lawsuits against California in a single week. Good luck, Trump. We’ll see you in court,” a spokesperson for Newsom said.

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