Tag: welfare

Brooke Rollins Details How Trump Admin Is Cracking Down on Food Stamp Fraud

Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday during a hearing explained how the Trump administration is working to combat food stamp fraud.

Rollins wrote, “@USDA has NEVER had access to State SNAP data. Not until this Administration demanded it. That’s why every figure from years past is meaningless. From the 29 states that DID share data, we’ve already identified at least $3 billion a year in fraud. Extrapolated nationwide: more than $10 billion. This isn’t ‘erroneous payments.’ This is FRAUD — and yes, @RepAngieCraig, I know the difference. Do you?”

Rollins shared a clip of her exchange with Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) in which the secretary explains that much of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp, data they receive from states such as California and Minnesota cannot be trusted.

“The lowest fraud rate of any program in America is the SNAP program. You can’t be serious when you say that,” Rollins said.

She then said, “@RepShontelBrown just said the quiet part out loud: Democrats want as many people on welfare as possible. It’s remarkable.”

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Kash Patel Unveils FBI’s “Most Wanted Fraudsters” List as Officials Announce New Medicaid Fraud Indictments

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday that the FBI is launching a “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list as the Department of Justice investigates criminal fraud rings across the country.

Patel credited Vice President JD Vance, the chairman of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, for the idea. “Mr. Vice President, thanks to your vision, we’re here to deliver, and you see it here today,” he said.

“I want all Americans to take a look at these most wanted individuals and look at the amounts, the 10s of millions and billions of dollars in fraud that they have decimated our societies from,” Patel continued, urging Americans to provide tips on the fraudsters’ whereabouts.

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Dr. Oz Says CMS Has Identified at Least $2 BILLION in Healthcare Benefits That Were Stolen by Illegals – DOUBLE What Was Found Last Year

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz revealed on Tuesday that his agency has identified now $2 billion in fraudulent healthcare payments that have been given to illegal aliens.

“The number has doubled from what I said last year. We’re about $2 billion,” he told The Gateway Pundit during a White House press briefing, adding that some states are cracking down on the fraud.

“The good news is that many states realize this is a problem, and they themselves have stopped doing this.”

“Some states don’t do as good a job as other states. That’s why we’re looking to individual states for leadership, for better ideas, to deal with many of these social problems that unfortunately begin to pile up over time. And they threaten the very foundation of our social net that supports all of us,” he added.

Oz further touted Vice President JD Vance’s work in exposing the fraud for criminal referral with his White House anti-fraud task force. While speaking at an anti-fraud roundtable with state attorneys general and White House officials last month, Vance revealed staggering numbers his team had discovered, including over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans, more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements, $6.3 billion in suspected fraudulent government contracts, and $60 million in student aid fraud.

“He’s taking this seriously. He’s going at it and he’s doing what’s best for the American people by making some tough decisions,” Oz said of Vance.

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Mamdani’s “COGE” commission to prepare deeper cuts to New York City social programs and regulations

On Thursday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the formation of a Committee on Government Efficiency (COGE) to examine the New York City Charter for efficiencies: that is, to search for ways in which social programs can be cut.

“The Commission on Government Efficiency will take a hard look at how City government functions and identify the reforms we need to deliver faster, smarter and more effectively for working people,” Mamdani told the media.

The Charter is essentially New York City’s constitution. It defines what authority belongs to the mayor and other officials and what to the City Council; laws, timelines and mandatory minimum rules for city reserve funds; the multi-step public review process required to build housing, change zoning laws or approve major infrastructure; and the scope, duties and enforcement powers of every city department.

The Charter does not control funding but does dictate the operational rules that heavily control, protect or limit social spending. For example, the Charter legally mandates the existence of agencies like the Department of Social Services and the Human Resources Administration, which a mayor cannot simply abolish to save money. The Charter also sets the exact legal procedures for how the city buys goods and hires outside nonprofits to run homeless shelters, daycare centers and after-school programs.

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All The British Government Does Is Ask ‘Who Can We Tax to Give Benefits to Others’, Mandelson-Epstein Scandal Papers Reveal

A document dump released by the British government because of the Peter Mandelson-Jeffrey Epstein scandal has revealed extensive private conversations among top Labour figures, including one that reveals tunnel-vision obsession with tax raids to pay for endless welfare giveaways.

Internal messages from inside the British Labour government have once again revealed the remarkable perspicacity with which select top figures are able to assess and recognise their own shortcomings and articulate among themselves — when they believe they are speaking in private confidence — precisely what their critics observe in public. Among over 1,500 pages of government text messages and emails released as part of the long tail fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein emails released in the United States, which brought down the British ambassador Peter Mandelson, is a remarkable smoking gun of an exchange where a top Labour figure admits the only real driving force of the government is endless tax extraction to prop up the welfare state.

In a conversation between Peter Mandelson, during his time as ambassador, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden, days after a punishing election defeat in May 2025, the pair discuss internal debates within the governing Labour Party. Reflecting on the mood, McFadden messaged Mandelson to say he had observed a “lot of manoeuvring here this week… Doesn’t feel good for Keir”.

Responding, Peter Mandelson, while he apparently enjoyed significant influence from Washington over the workings of the British government back home, led with criticism of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and said: “Keir is not leading from the front… does he even realise? The [Parliamentary Labour Party, I] gather is in mutinous state”. McFadden replied in turn: “Yes. Every meeting I have is ‘who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others’. They’re asking the wrong questions”.

This revelation of the state of the most senior Labour ministers by a consummate insider is politically radioactive for Labour, given it confirms some of the very most damaging accusations made about it by its political rivals; that its rapacious appetite for tax revenue to fund the welfare state is in part a result of open borders and government failures, while at the same time destroying the economy.

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The Myth of Socialism: USA Standard of Living Higher Than Europe; Wages, Taxes, Crime, and Services

Many people believe Europe has a higher standard of living than the United States. This belief is typically based on several commonly cited arguments, including crime, social welfare systems, healthcare, and transportation infrastructure.

Comparisons between Europe and the United States often focus heavily on government-provided benefits while paying less attention to differences in income, taxation, purchasing power, housing affordability, employment opportunities, and consumer choice. Europe is also frequently discussed as a single entity despite significant differences between countries.

Europe consists of between 44 and 50 countries, depending on the definition used. The most common geographic definition counts 44 sovereign states, while broader definitions that include microstates and transcontinental countries such as Russia and Turkey, as well as countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, place the total closer to 50.

As an example of how economically diverse Europe is, the richest country, Luxembourg, has a GDP per capita, or average income, of about $140,000 to $160,000 per year, while the poorest country, Moldova, has a GDP per capita of about $8,000 to $10,000.

Supporters of the European model point to universal healthcare, social welfare programs, public transportation, and lower crime rates as evidence of a superior standard of living. These comparisons often overlook higher wages in the United States, lower taxes, larger homes, higher rates of vehicle ownership, and the tradeoffs and advantages associated with different approaches to healthcare and transportation.

Crime is another frequent point of comparison. Many Europeans falsely believe school shootings are a major cause of death in the United States. At the same time, they ignore the fact that parts of Europe are extremely unsafe and that much of Europe has higher levels of theft, pickpocketing, muggings, home invasions, and other categories of crime. Furthermore, European cities that have allowed waves of migrants and asylum seekers from North Africa and Africa have seen sexual crimes and rape increase dramatically.

Healthcare is also central to the debate. Europe is often praised for universal coverage, but wait times in many countries are extremely long, and patients frequently require prior authorization before accessing specialists or advanced treatments. Quality also varies dramatically between countries. At the same time, the majority of Americans are covered through employer-sponsored plans, government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, or private insurance.

Social welfare systems and transportation infrastructure are also commonly cited as European advantages. Supporters highlight government benefits and extensive public transportation networks.

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California Legislators Shriek: ‘Stop Nick Shirley!’

Without the second Trump Administration, we would surely not have discovered, and most importantly, acted upon, the fraud being committed around the country, most notably in blue states like Minnesota and California. So much has been discovered so rapidly, President Trump appointed Vice President Vance to head an anti-fraud task force, and the DOJ hired additional prosecutors to handle the dramatically increasing number of cases. Federal officials are suggesting the sheer amount of fraud, discovered and yet to be discovered, is so staggering clawing back that money could balance the federal budget.

Instrumental in exposing sufficient fraud so it could no longer be ignored by local or state officials is independent journalist Nick Shirley, who exposed the infamous “Quality Learing Center” day care fraud in Minneapolis, as well as many less well-known fraudulent day cares. So effective was Shirley, and so quickly did his work anger local fraudsters and state officials, Shirley received so many death threats he apparently decided to give California a try. This was the immediate result: 

Independent journalist Nick Shirley has released a devastating 40-minute investigative video that exposes what appears to be massive waste and potential fraud in California’s hospice, Medi-Cal, and daycare programs. His report, now viewed more than 7.7 million times on X, uncovers over $170 million in questionable billings tied to ghost hospice and daycare operations that show virtually no signs of actually caring for patients or children.

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Massachusetts Sues UnitedHealthcare Over Alleged $100 Million Fraud

Massachusetts sued UnitedHealthcare on May 29, alleging the company defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by making seniors appear sicker than they were to secure higher payments.

The company contracted with MassHealth to provide a Senior Care Options—which combines Medicare and Medicaid benefits into one plan—for seniors aged 65 and older.

UnitedHealthcare allegedly received more than $100 million in fraudulent payments from MassHealth between 2015 and 2025, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated in the complaint.

UnitedHealthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, said the complaint is “meritless and doesn’t accurately describe our Senior Care Options program” in ‌a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

The legal complaint alleged UnitedHealthcare inflated payment rates in three ways.

Upcoding

Massachusetts paid UnitedHealthcare a per-member, per-month rate for each senior enrolled in the plan based on UnitedHealthcare’s assessments of the member’s health conditions.

UnitedHealthcare allegedly labeled members as having behavioral health disorders such as depression or anxiety, or substance use disorders to gain higher reimbursement rates, according to the complaint, when the members had no diagnosis or treatment on record for such conditions.

An analysis by the attorney general’s office revealed that nearly 30 percent of UnitedHealthcare’s 2014 through 2024 behavioral health assessments lacked any matching medical claims to support the mental health diagnoses reported to the state.

Keeping Overpayments

The insurer’s internal reviews identified that many members were incorrectly placed in the highest and most expensive level of care despite not qualifying for it, according to the lawsuit.

While the company eventually downgraded these members to lower-paying levels, it allegedly failed to inform the state of the prior errors or return the extra money it had already collected.

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MASSIVE EBT & CHARITY FRAUD EXPOSED: Dominican Immigrants in Lawrence, Massachusetts Buying Food with Your Taxpayer-Funded Stamps and Free Charity Donations, Then Shipping It Overseas to Sell for Profit in Santo Domingo Bodegas

Independent investigator Muckraker has blown the lid off a sophisticated, long-running Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) and charity fraud operation in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Dominican immigrants have been openly buying groceries with food stamps (EBT/SNAP cards) or taking free food from charities and food banks, loading it into shipping barrels, and sending it straight to the Dominican Republic — where it gets resold for profit in local bodegas. The pipeline runs from Massachusetts corner stores, through shipping hubs in New York, all the way to Santo Domingo.

According to the Muckraker Foundation:

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence is a small city about 30 miles north of Boston. It has the highest concentration of Dominican immigrants of any city in Massachusetts, and the highest rate of SNAP enrollment in the state.

John has been delivering goods in Lawrence for over 11 years, six days a week, 35 stops a day. He knows the community intimately.

“I’ve been witnessing the Dominican residents going to food bank lines and collecting non-perishable goods,” he told us, “and then packing it in barrels and in boxes, and then they ship it back to the Dominican Republic.”

We asked him how he knew the food was being purchased with food stamps.

“Some of them have openly told me and my wife that that’s what they’re doing,” he said. “And then the other way is the math.”

The math is straightforward. A 50-pound bag of rice costs $30 in Lawrence. That same bag costs $35 in the Dominican Republic. Add shipping, and the economics make no sense unless the food was free or paid for with government benefits.

John drove us through the streets of Lawrence and showed us the evidence hiding in plain sight: blue shipping barrels, stacked outside corner stores, for sale. Not one store. Not two. Store after store after store.

“These barrels aren’t trash cans,” John said. “They’re being used to ship the product.”

Every one of those stores also advertised, prominently, that they accept EBT.

Abigail has worked in Lawrence since 2011. She asked us not to disclose her profession, but her job takes her inside people’s homes on a daily basis.

“Many of them will have large boxes, large bins in their apartments full of the food that they give out at the pantries here,” she told us. “And when I ask them what it’s for, they say they mail it back so it can either be given to their families there or be sold in the bodegas there.”

We asked if these patients knew they were doing something wrong.

“No,” she said, and laughed quietly. “They feel entitled. They feel like that’s what we come here for.”

We asked how widespread she believed the fraud to be among the patients she visits.

“About half,” she said. “Half the people I see.”

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Medicare Fraud, Kickbacks Rampant at 340B Hospitals

When Vice President J.D. Vance and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson launched the White House Fraud Task Force earlier this year, they promised that the federal government would stop being a piggy bank for grifters and start being a steward of the taxpayer’s dollar. They’re off to a great start, freezing billions in suspect payments, exposing operators that billed Medicare for patients who don’t exist, and putting all 50 states on notice.

But one of the most brazen scams in American health care is still sitting in plain sight. The 340B Drug Discount Program, on track to become the largest government drug program in the country, was created to help low-income patients. All too often it instead helps multibillion dollar “non-profit” hospitals to fund ad campaigns, pad executive pay, and push out independent competitors.

One angle of this 340B scandal has gone unreported: many of these same hospitals have been cited by the Department of Justice for Medicare and Medicaid fraud. This trend warrants a closer look from Vance and Ferguson.

A review of Justice Department recent settlements identifies 340B-registered hospital systems that have agreed to pay tens—even hundreds of millions—of dollars to settle allegations of Medicare or Medicaid fraud. Across a subset of particularly egregious cases, aggregated settlements collectively exceed half a billion dollars. Cases range from physician kickbacks and billing services never rendered, to manipulating Medicaid matching funds and charging for medically unnecessary procedures.

CHRISTUS St. Vincent, the same Santa Fe hospital documented for its anti-competitive campaign against Nexus Health, paid $12.24 million in 2017 to settle Medicaid False Claims Act allegations after manipulating county donations to inflate federal matching funds. It separately settled a second case for billing services a physician never performed.

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System paid $36.5 million to resolve kickback allegations tied to physician referral volume. A Virginia lawsuit separately alleged Bon Secours credentialed an OB/GYN later convicted of fraud for performing bogus procedures. A 2022 New York Times investigation found the system extracting profit from a low-income Richmond neighborhood while directing resources elsewhere.

Indianapolis-based Community Health Network (CHN) paid $345 million in 2023 to settle False Claims Act allegations that it systematically violated the Stark Law by overpaying recruited specialists to capture their downstream Medicare referrals. The government alleged that CHN knowingly exceeded fair market value in physician compensation to capture downstream Medicare referrals, then awarded bonuses directly tied to referral volume.

These cases are not representative of every 340B hospital. Many covered entities use the program exactly as Congress intended. But the bad actors are unfortunately common. They are large, well-resourced systems that have claimed the program’s benefits while defrauding the federal programs it was designed to complement.

And because 340B has no mechanism to distinguish between good actors and bad, the entire program pays the price. A fraud settlement triggers no automatic review of a hospital’s eligibility. There is no coordination between the Justice Department, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that would prompt a second look. Hospitals can defraud Medicare and Medicaid, pay hundreds of millions to resolve those allegations, and continue receiving 340B benefits without interruption. This is the type of coordination challenge that the White House Fraud Task Force can help to solve.

The Trump administration has already gotten the ball rolling. In July 2025, HRSA launched a pilot program to test a rebate model that would require hospitals to submit data on how 340B drugs are dispensed before receiving reimbursement, building in a layer of accountability the program has never had. Hospital lobbying groups sued to block it, and a federal court issued an injunction in December 2025. HRSA has since restarted the effort, issuing a new request for information in February 2026.

The 340B program was built on a simple premise: give hospitals a financial advantage and they will use it to care for patients who have nowhere else to turn. For many, that is exactly what happens. But for others, the program has functioned as an open tab: no strings attached, no mechanism to screen out institutions with documented records of federal fraud.

As Vance and Ferguson turn the spotlight on fraud and scams across the healthcare system, 340B hospitals with a track record of bad behavior should be in their sights.

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