Tag: texas

Florida, Texas Executives Get 20 Years for $233M Affordable Care Act Fraud Scheme

Two executives were each sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted for a years-long scheme to steal from the Affordable Care Act program.

The defendants — the president of an insurance brokerage firm and the CEO of a marketing company — preyed on tens of thousands of vulnerable consumers to improperly enroll them into fully subsidized ACA plans, for which the defendants earned millions of dollars in commission payments from insurance companies.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Cory Lloyd, 47, of Stuart, Florida, and Steven Strong, 43, of Mansfield, Texas, engaged in an extensive fraud scheme that sought over $233 million in fraudulent ACA plan subsidies for which the federal government paid at least $180 million. 

“Preying upon medically compromised consumers to rob hundreds of millions from taxpayer-funded programs is evil and unforgivable,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Fraud schemes like this rob citizens and shake faith in our institutions — today’s sentencing is the latest example of this DOJ’s commitment to fighting fraud nationwide.”

As proven at trial, Lloyd and Strong targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and, through “street marketers” working on their behalf, sometimes offered bribes to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans. 

“These defendants didn’t just commit fraud; they built a business model around exploiting people at their most vulnerable,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “They targeted vulnerable individuals in the community, manipulated federal health programs for profit, and put victims at risk of losing critical medical care so they could cash in. Stealing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while endangering lives is as callous as it gets. The FBI and our partners will continue to track down and hold accountable anyone who treats vulnerable Americans as a payday.”

Keep reading

Texas Sues Drone Maker Anzu Over Alleged Ties to CCP

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing drone-maker Anzu Robotics, alleging that the U.S.-based company misled consumers and concealed its ties with the Chinese communist regime.

Paxton announced the lawsuit on Feb. 19, accusing the Texas-based startup of rebranding products sourced from Chinese drone giant Da Jiang Innovations, commonly known as DJI.

Founded in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in 2006, DJI has been flagged by U.S. regulators as a security risk because of its ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The U.S. Commerce Department added DJI to its export control list in 2020 for aiding the CCP’s human rights abuses. The Treasury banned U.S.-based individuals from trading DJI shares the following year because of similar concerns. The Pentagon blacklisted DJI as a Chinese military company in 2022, noting that the Chinese regime requires all Chinese companies to allow it to use them as part of its military-civil fusion strategy.

In the lawsuit, Paxton accused Anzu of making false and misleading representations to Texans about its business relationship with DJI, data-sharing practices, and software development.

Anzu markets itself as an American-owned, made-in-Malaysia alternative, but much of its drone technology is licensed from DJI, which receives payments for every drone that Anzu orders, the complaint alleges.

Keep reading

Texas Senate Race Thrown Into Turmoil After Stunning ‘Doxxing’ Allegation

Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) campaign is under fire after a top staffer posted Rep. Wesley Hunt’s 2016 provisional ballot on social media, exposing personal details. Hunt announced that he has filed a police report accusing the campaign of “doxxing” his family just days before early voting begins.

The controversy is the latest in a fiery primary race between the three candidates.

Cornyn communications director Matt Mackowiak allegedly posted images of Hunt’s 2016 Harris County provisional ballot on his X account on Friday. He alleged that Hunt lied about his military discharge date and 2016 voting record.

The unredacted document included Hunt’s home address, driver’s license number and the last four digits of his Social Security number. Cornyn’s campaign deleted the post and then reposted the images with redactions of Hunt’s personal information.

Hunt slammed the Cornyn campaign, characterizing the post as dangerous and unlawful. He said sharing his and his family’s information crossed the line between opposition research and doxxing. He filed a criminal complaint with the Harris County Constable’s Office. Law enforcement intends to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post, according to Fox 26 Houston.

The lawmaker further claimed that his 2016 provisional ballot was never counted and that Cornyn is using it to claim he committed voter fraud.

A spokesperson for the Hunt campaign told Townhall, “In this current climate of political violence, doxxing the home address of a sitting Member of Congress or his family isn’t ‘hardball politics.’ It’s reckless, dangerous, and illegal. It puts lives at risk.”

Keep reading

Texas launches legal action against CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood, Antifa

Ken Paxton, the attorney general in Texas, has launched a series of high-profile legal actions targeting alleged terrorist-linked organizations as part of his efforts to combat domestic and foreign extremism in the state.

On Feb. 5, he announced a lawsuit against the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) “to stop the terrorist groups from operating in Texas.”

According to the 32-page filing submitted to a Collin County district court, the State of Texas alleges that the Muslim Brotherhood “is a radical terrorist organization that exists to usurp governmental power and establish dominion through Sharia law” and that it has “covertly operated in the United States under the name ‘CAIR’ for decades.”

The document states that “the group is not peaceful. It is not tolerant. It does not respect the freedom to practice other religions or sects, including Christianity and Judaism.”

Paxton is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to halt all operations, fundraising, property ownership and recruitment by the organizations in Texas.

The attorney general also turned his attention to domestic terror groups. On Feb. 6, Paxton initiated legal action against the Houston-based Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee, described by his office as an “Antifa-affiliated unincorporated nonprofit association,” alleging violations of Texas law tied to doxing and violence.

“Radical leftists have engaged in coordinated efforts to militantly attack our nation and undermine the rule of law,” he said. “These deranged traitors will face the full force of law. No stone will be left unturned, and no tool will be left unused.”

Paxton noted that Antifa has been designated by U.S. President Donald Trump as a terrorist organization and that “reported members of Screwston affiliates recently participated in an armed assault on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas.”

Keep reading

University Of Houston Pledges To End Indoctrination

As first reported at Campus Reform, “The University of Houston (UH) administration recently sent faculty at the school a non-indoctrination form, through which the faculty were instructed to pledge not to ‘indoctrinate’ their students into any particular ideology.”

Of course, universities were not meant to be centers of indoctrination in the first place; however, they have, in most cases, become just that.

The form asks faculty to agree to five statements namely “(1) that a primary purpose of higher education is to enhance critical thinking, (2) that professors should not indoctrinate students, (3) that he or she understands critical thinking, (4) that his or her courses are designed to improve critical thinking, (5) and that his or her pedagogical methods are used to enhance critical thinking.”

This is a major step for a university to commit to this instead of training social justice warriors and Woke ideologues.

This importantly comes after the passage of Senate Bill 37 in Texas, which allowed students to file complaints against Woke indoctrination.

“For too long, unelected faculty senates have operated behind closed doors, steering curriculum decisions, influencing institutional policy, issuing political statements to divest from Israel, and even organizing votes of ‘no confidence’ that undermine public trust,” said Texas State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a supporter of the legislation, in April.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot prohibited Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives by signing Senate Bill 17 in 2023. Abbot’s office explained that he wanted to give “people the opportunity to advance based on talent and merit.”

As usual, not all the professors were on board in opposing woke education.

Apparently, indoctrination is a necessity to some professors.

“UH’s chapter of the left-wing American Association of University Professors (AAUP) even drafted a note for faculty members to send to the deans rather than completing the form as requested.”

The University of Houston seems to be one of the few that are actually taking steps to move towards education and away from indoctrination.

All colleges in America should be centers of education and the free exchange of ideas, sadly, however, this is the exception to the rule.

The University of Houston recently closed down it’s Gender Studies Center.

Keep reading

Texas public schools under investigation for supporting student walkouts, ICE protests

Several Texas public schools are under state investigation for supporting thousands of student walkouts to protest federal immigration enforcement.

Many have either been taken over by the state or have planned school closures. Gov. Greg Abbott has called for schools that facilitate protests to be stripped of state funding.

Initial protests and walkouts occurred on Jan. 30 as part of a coordinated national movement disrupting classroom teaching with some students getting injured and lost. More than 10 days later, students are still protesting.

On Tuesday, dozens of students from the Houston Academy for International Studies walked out of school, chanting, “ICE off our streets.” It’s part of Houston ISD, which the state took over two years ago for failing grades, The Center Square reported. Last week, in Fort Bend ISD, a Kuwaiti student joined protests chanting, “There’s no human illegal on stolen land,” a common chant among Houston area protesters, The Houston Chronicle reported.

Dallas ISD students also walked out of class on Tuesday, chanting, “No Trump, no ICE, no fascists on our streets. “Dallas Police and Dallas ISD officers stood by,” KERA News reported.

Student protests continue after the Texas Education Agency issued guidance stating, “schools risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class. Teachers that facilitate walk outs will be subject to investigation and sanction including licensure revocation. School systems that facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and sanction, including either the appointment of a monitor, conservator or board of managers.”

Keep reading

Fact Check: Did a MAGA Dad Murder His Liberal Daughter After an Argument About Trump? Sick Leftists Will Be Disappointed with the Facts

There’s a narrative swirling around online leftist circles that a Trump-supporting father murdered his daughter after an argument about politics, but the incident is not so clear-cut.

Kris Harrison of the United Kingdom moved to the United States, residing in Prosper, Texas, as of January 2025. His daughter, Lucy Harrison, came to visit him from the U.K. when on Jan. 10, 2025, she died after receiving a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.

The New York Post reported that Lucy was traveling to see her father with her boyfriend, Sam Littler, who said the two had a “big argument” relating to President Donald Trump, with Kris being a supporter and Lucy being a critic of the president.

In particular, the two clashed over Kris purchasing a Glock 9mm handgun. Apparently, the argument occurred when Lucy gave her father a hypothetical scenario about a woman being sexually assaulted, asking, “How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?”

Kris replied by saying he had two other daughters, so he wouldn’t be that upset, which made her angry and caused Lucy to march away upstairs, the report said. It’s not clear how Trump came into the dispute.

Later in the day, before the two were set to leave for the airport, Kris took Lucy downstairs where his bedroom was located.

Just seconds afterwards, Littler said he heard a bang and Kris called for his wife, Heather. “I remember running into the room and Lucy was lying on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom and Kris was just screaming, just sort of nonsense,” Littler said.

Kris told police he wanted to show Lucy his handgun after watching a news segment on gun violence.

Kris recalled, “As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”

He did not recall if his finger was in the trigger.

The police report noted Kris had the smell of alcohol on his breath. The New York Post added that he admitted to being an alcoholic who relapsed and drank three glasses of wine that day. He had spent time in rehab as well.

Texas law enforcement was investigating the case as manslaughter, but ultimately no charges were filed against the father.

Now, left-wing users on social media platform X are eager to frame this as a man getting away with murder in the name of the president.

Keep reading

This Is The LOCUST Laser That Reportedly Prompted Closing El Paso’s Airspace

An AeroVironment LOCUST laser directed energy weapon owned by the U.S. Army was central to the chain of events that led to the recent shutdown of airspace around El Paso, Texas, according to Reuters. Though many questions still remain to be answered about how the flight restrictions came to be imposed, LOCUST was designed to respond to exactly the kinds of drones that regularly fly across the southern border from Mexico.

Readers can get caught up on what is known about the clampdown in the skies above El Paso on Wednesday in initial reporting here.

Multiple outlets had already reported yesterday that the use of a laser counter-drone system was a key factor in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) sudden decision to impose the temporary flight restrictions over El Paso. Reuters‘ report says “two people briefed on the situation” identified the laser system in question as LOCUST. TWZ has reached out to AeroVironment and the U.S. Army for more information. U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which oversees U.S. military operations in and around the homeland, declined to comment.

Last July, the U.S. military released a picture, seen below, showing Army personnel assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) conducting sling-load training with a LOCUST mounted on a 4×4 M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) at Fort Bliss. This had prompted some speculation that LOCUST systems might be in use along the U.S. border with Mexico. JTF-SB was established in March 2025 to oversee a surge in U.S. military support to the border security mission. Fort Bliss, situated in El Paso, is a major hub for those operations. It is also home to the 1st Armored Division and a significant number of Army air defense units.

Keep reading

Fifth Circuit Upholds Texas Ban on Paid Ballot Harvesting in Major Election Integrity Win

The Fifth Circuit just handed Texas a major win on ballot harvesting, reversing a lower court and allowing the state’s ban on paid in-person ballot harvesting to take effect.

The ruling clears the way for enforcement of a key provision in S.B. 1, the 2021 election integrity law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R). The statute targets compensated political operatives who interact with voters while they are physically handling ballots.

The law defines “vote harvesting services” as:

“in-person interaction with one or more voters, in the physical presence of an official ballot or a ballot voted by mail, intended to deliver votes for a specific candidate or measure.”

That definition is neither abstract nor open-ended. It zeroes in on in-person conduct that occurs in the presence of a ballot and is intended to influence how that ballot is cast. The statute does not sweep in general political advocacy. It addresses direct interaction with a voter while the ballot itself is being handled.

The enforcement provision leaves little ambiguity. Under the statute, a person commits an offense if he:

“knowingly provides or offers to provide vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation or other benefit.”

Put more plainly, Texas can prohibit someone from being paid to hover over a voter while a ballot is being completed and steer the voter toward a preferred candidate or measure.

Keep reading

Eyewitness video of mysterious craft hovering over El Paso upends Trump administration ‘party balloon’ claims

Claims that US airspace was shut down because of a party balloon have been popped by new video appearing to show a large, hovering UFO over El Paso, Texas.

An eyewitness driving near El Paso International Airport on Tuesday pulled over to record what they described as a mothership floating above the ground in the distance, which was releasing smaller objects from its underside.

The sighting, shared with crowdsourced UFO-reporting platform Enigma, occurred just hours before a large swath of US airspace was abruptly closed for ‘special security reasons’ at 11.30pm MT on February 10.

The mysterious shut down was originally announced to last for ten days and included all commercial, cargo, and general flights within a ten-mile-wide area roughly five miles southwest of El Paso, from the ground up to 18,000 feet.

However, the chaotic shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was quickly called off, with the Trump Administration changing the story of what triggered the alert multiple times within a matter of hours on Wednesday.

White House officials initially announced the US had taken down a Mexican cartel drone flying across the southern border, only to claim hours later that the object struck by a high-powered laser was a party balloon.

Now, UFO researchers and witnesses in the area have alleged that something other than a balloon or drone was spotted on multiple days near the US-Mexico border before the FAA warning.

‘Looks like the mothership. It’s huge. And there are stuff coming out from the bottom of it and going off to the left a little bit as it landed,’ the driver on Tuesday said. 

Keep reading