As Gov. Tim Walz seeks a promotion to second-in-command of the country, Congress is investigating how he allowed the largest COVID-era scam in the nation to unfold in Minnesota while serving as the head of the state.
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Cryptocurrency scams and fraud in 2023 contributed to an estimated $5.6 billion in losses, a report from one of the federal government’s top law enforcement agencies says.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cryptocurrency Fraud Report for 2023 found that the vast majority of losses – about $3.9 million – were related to cryptocurrency investment scams.
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The deadline to replace Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for recipients whose benefits were electronically stolen or skimmed is fast approaching.
A September 30, 2024, deadline looms for those who had their benefits stolen between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024, to replace their lost benefits. This comes after Congress passed a law in December 2022, hoping to reduce SNAP benefit theft; the law set this deadline to replace benefits. People must file their claims within 30 days of the theft occurring to ensure they receive payment.
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Devon Archer, the former Hunter Biden confidant convicted of fraud in January, whose testimony to Congress transformed the congressional impeachment probe into alleged Biden family corruption, also is a cooperating witness in an unrelated federal murder-for-hire prosecution, according to court records.
Archer’s lawyers have used their client’s cooperation in the Vermont murder-for-hire case and the impeachment inquiry in Congress to successfully delay his sentencing last month in a securities fraud case, where he was convicted back in 2018.
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Over the past week, The Tennessee Star has been tracking Tennessee’s apparent “ghost donors” to far-left Political Action Committee (PAC) ActBlue who have contributed more than 1,000 times to the organization since the beginning of 2023.
Cynthia Matthews of Nashville is another “ghost donor” identified by The Star.
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A Tennessee woman who has allegedly donated to far-left PAC ActBlue evaded questions from The Tennessee Star Thursday.
The Star reported Thursday morning that a Nashville-area woman named Martha Wettemann has made 1,151 contributions to ActBlue since the beginning of 2023, totaling about $29,000.
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According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, Gerald McAteer, an unemployed man in Franklin, Tennessee, made 2,629 individual contributions to Democrat PAC ActBlue, totaling $15,928.24, since the beginning of 2024.
At the time of this writing, McAteer, over the past 588 days, has contributed to ActBlue an average of 4.47 times per day for an average of just over $6 per donation, or a little more than $27 per day.
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The Tennessee Star has identified seven people who the leftist political donation platform ActBlue reported to campaign finance authorities “donated” more than 1,000 times since the beginning of 2023, further adding to the suspicions that the company is committing fraud.
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Election-integrity policies are increasing gaining mainstream appeal and acceptance, despite Democrats opposing them under their repeated claim that they are only part of right-wing falsehoods.
From preventing non-citizen voting in U.S. elections to voter ID, Democrats have largely opposed a wide range of election integrity policies that a majority of Americans believe are necessary for the security of elections.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Thursday that his office is “looking into” a private investment company’s attempt to foreclose on Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland home in Memphis.
Graceland became the target of Nausanny Investments and Private Lending, LLC after the company claimed that the singer’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who died in 2023, didn’t repay a loan that used the home as collateral.
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The federal government loses up to $521 billion a year to fraud, according to a first-of-its-kind estimate from a Congressional watchdog.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which serves as the research arm of Congress, estimated annual fraud losses cost taxpayers between $233 billion and $521 billion annually, according to a new report published Tuesday. The fraud estimate’s range represents 3% to 7% of average federal obligations.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday the conviction of Democratic activist and former congressional candidate Derickson Lawrence of fraud charges related lies he told to obtain over $25,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and the misuse of over $230,000 entrusted to his company to process another firm’s payroll.
Despite his business operating in Virginia, Lawrence ran in the Democratic Party primary to represent New York’s 16th Congressional district in 2018, ultimately losing to former Representative Eliot Engel.
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The latest report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveals that American adults lost a record amount of money to acts of fraud in the year 2023, totaling around $10 billion.
As reported by Axios, the number of Americans who fell victim to fraudulent scams was roughly 690,000. The average lost amount per person was $500.
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At least four elections in the U.S. have been overturned by courts this year after voting irregularities and fraud were discovered, prompting new balloting in most of those races.
In 2020 and 2022 general elections, numerous lawsuits were brought challenging results amid alleged irregularities. This year, a few lawsuits have been decided on 2023 elections and on a 2022 election, which resulted in the initial results being overturned.
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The U.S. Energy Department faces major management challenges ranging from hacking vulnerabilities to foreign espionage and could create “massive new risks to the taxpayer” as it spends tens of billions of dollars in new spending from President Joe Biden’s signature infrastructure initiative, the agency’s internal watchdog warns.
The Office of Inspector General offered a stark assessment of the department under Secretary Jennifer Granholm, pointedly warning losses from fraud in the current infrastructure spending could mirror that seen during the COVID pandemic, where taxpayers now lost an estimated $200 billion government wide.
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Pfizer and Moderna’s lack of transparency regarding DNA contamination in its COVID-19 shots “meets the criteria for evidence of fraud,” according to the doctor who invented the mRNA vaccine technology upon which the products are based.
“They [Pfizer and Moderna] absolutely did know about the existence of SV40 sequences,” vaccinologist Dr. Robert Malone told Republican lawmakers during a livestream House hearing Monday. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) led the event to examine injuries and deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccinations.
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The Hendersonville Police Department (HPD) said in a Monday press release that a man posing as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agent bilked an elderly Tennessee resident out of nearly $60,000.
According to the release:
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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs revealed another batch of legislative actions Tuesday, including four more vetoes for Republican-led legislation.
“Katie Hobbs just vetoed my bill that would have affirmed that courts are to interpret election laws in the interests of transparency – insane,” shared State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale).
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Michiganders who believe they were falsely accused of fraud between 2013-15 for receiving unemployment insurance benefits should know two upcoming deadlines to join a $20 million class action settlement with the state of Michigan.
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency blames an old computer system for wrongly accusing roughly 40,000 people of fraud.
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It’s Sunshine Week, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is recognizing the week-long celebration of transparency in government by shining a spotlight on some dark places in the federal government.
Ernst in particular is calling out the Biden administration for “keeping taxpayers in the dark about Washington’s wasteful spending.”
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A Michigan doctor was sentenced to 16.5 years in prison for his part in a health care fraud scheme that billed more than $250 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance programs and illegally distributed over 6.6 million doses of opioids.
In September 2021, Francisco Patino, M.D., 68, of Wayne County, was convicted at trial in the Eastern District of Michigan of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and pay and receive health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
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Former President Donald Trump called for the termination of the Constitution’s rules regarding elections after the release of information about the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020.
“So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social.
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A federal grand jury has indicted six people from Benton Harbor on fraud charges.
They are accused of defrauding taxpayers by $1 million via unemployment insurance fraud and small business loans.
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Attorney General Keith Ellison scrambled to defend his oversight of Feeding Our Future after two of his former staff members spoke out in a Star Tribune article published Thursday night.
The article highlights the state’s shortcomings in preventing the fraud and culminates with the analysis of two former senior members of Ellison’s team, both of whom asked to remain anonymous “for fear of retribution.”
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred 75 people to the Ohio attorney general and county prosecutors for additional investigation and potential prosecution based on accusations that they illegally voted during the 2020 general election.
LaRose’s office states that individuals who allegedly voted in one state and then cast an additional vote in Ohio, violating state law, have been identified.
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After taxpayers lost $250 million in what federal officials deemed “the largest pandemic fraud” in the nation, the government agencies involved are blaming each other.
The Department of Justice charged 47 people with the fraud, alleging they exploited federal money left unguarded by lax COVID rules meant to feed hungry kids.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to help unravel the specifics surround former Speaker Glen Casada and his aid Cade Cothren’s indictment.
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A Jamaican man was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins to 160 months, which is a little over 13 years, in prison for leading an international fraud ring that targeted thousands of elderly victims around the United States. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered McIntosh to pay approximately $1.8 million in restitution.
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Former Georgia mayoral candidate Olivia Ware was sentenced to prison for her role in a scheme that stole thousands from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The PPP grants were issued to businesses by the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic. The funds were intended to help companies maintain payments to their employees.
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Jason Lary, the former Mayor of the City of Stonecrest, was sentenced to spend close to five years in federal prison for his scheme that stole thousands of COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, the former government official took more than $100,000 from the citizens of his city.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Federal Trade Commission have taken legal action to shut down what they say was a fraudulent scheme perpetrated by a company targeting minority-owned small businesses.
They filed a joint complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida where Judge Marcia Morales Howard issued a temporary restraining order against the company, preventing it from doing any more business.
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Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate James Craig did not submit enough valid signatures and should not be on the state’s primary ballot, Michigan’s Bureau of Elections contended in a report.
According to the group, Craig, in addition to multiple other candidates running for various office, allegedly turned in signatures that were forged by paid circulators.
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A Wisconsin man was sentenced to serve more than a decade in prison after being convicted on charges connected to a Ponzi scheme with roughly 70 victims.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, Robert Narvett was sentenced for one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
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Two physicians, and the company they manage, agreed to pay millions to settle allegations of a healthcare kickback arrangement with other doctors, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
Specifically, Paul D. Weir, John R. Morgan, and Care Plus Management will distribute $7.2 million to solve the complaint over potential violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act.
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A scammer that targeted elderly victims has been arrested and indicted for his alleged role in a fraud scheme that stole roughly $300 million.
According to a release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Abdou Diallo, a Canadian resident, was at the center of an international telemarketing fraud scheme.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday a proposed consent judgment that will require CashCall, Inc., its owner J. Paul Reddam, and a wholly-owned subsidiary, WS Funding LLC, to pay $4.8 million in restitution to Arizona consumers who took out personal loans with interest rates as high as 169 percent, greatly exceeding that allowed under Arizona law, according to a press release by Brnovich’s office.
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A press release from the Washington, D.C. based Freedom Foundations says that a union for Ohio’s retired teachers improperly received COVID-19 relief funds for which they were ineligible.
“The Ohio Retired Teachers Association alone received over $36,000 in COVID funds,” that press release said.
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Two Florida business owners were indicted on charges related to a fraud scheme that allowed them to collect more than $12 million.
Matthew Pardi and Ashley Lynn Hars allegedly created a series of fake moving companies, often stealing the identity of real businesses. Additionally, they would inflate their record with fake 5-star reviews and dubious claims.
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A Middle Tennessee man was charged in a million dollar investment scheme aimed to defraud unsuspecting investors, the Department of Justice said in a recent press release.
The Hendersonville man who also lived in Gallatin – known as Gregory Michael Vogel and Gregory Michael Schneider – was charged on eight counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in relation to an investment scheme.
According to the statement, Vogel was arrested Wednesday morning by federal agents after a join investigation by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
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Representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and the Office of Administration discussed ongoing fraud and other issues in the commonwealth’s unemployment system Thursday during a House hearing.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor & Industry Jennifer Berrier told the House Labor and Industry Committee that “overall the (unemployment compensation) system is in a good place,” but acknowledged a raft of ongoing issues, from hundreds of millions of dollars stolen through fraud to large backlogs of unresolved claims and fraud cases.
Berrier said the unemployment compensation system has processed more than 611,000 claims since the modernized system went live in June, paying out about $3.4 billion in benefits. During the height of the pandemic, the department faced a backlog of 300,000 nonmonetary determinations, or those involving eligibility, that since has been whittled down to 95,000, she said.
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Attorney General Dave Yost (R) is holding a series of forums to spread awareness about elder abuse in the state.
In a press release announcing the next event in the series of forums, called “Responding to Financial Exploitation, Scams and Fraud in Facility Settings,” Yost told the following story of an Ohio senior who was bilked out of his own money:
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What irony!
Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger must be turning over in their graves.
Bernie Sanders must be having sleepless nights.
The left-wing anthem “Which Side Are You On?” is no longer about whether you’re a “union man” or a “thug for J.H. Blair.” It’s about the size of your stock portfolio or when to go public with your start-up.
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An Ohio woman pleaded guilty to charges related to her role in a fraudulent adoption scheme, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
According to the original indictment, Margaret Cole, a 74-year-old woman, ran an international adoption agency based in Strongsville, Ohio.
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The Department of Justice announced this week a man from Smyrna, Tennessee was charged for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud. Shawn Palmer, who is the sole owner of Palmers Transportation, Inc. was charged with a criminal information which alleges he applied for and received a PPP loan of $514,370.
According to the charging document, in June of 2020 Palmer sent documents to an individual who assisted him to apply for a PPP loan. The documents were then sent to Kabbage, Inc. which was “a lender approved by the Small Business Administration to provide funds under the program which was designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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The Department of Justice announced this week a Knoxville, Tennessee man was arrested for defrauding COVID-19 economic relief programs. James Waylon Howell pled guilty to “engaging in more than $150,000 in fraud related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and to committing money laundering.” He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
“This prosecution highlights the Department of Justice’s commitment to aggressively prosecute those who have defrauded these important programs enacted to provide economic relief to those who have suffered financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “Fortunately, the quick and capable work of our federal partners permitted the recovery of a substantial amount of stolen funds.”
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Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty Monday on four counts: three of wire fraud and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The jury remained deadlocked on three charges and found her not guilty on four other felony charges.
The former entrepreneur reportedly remained emotionless as the verdicts were read, The Associated Press stated. Her partner, Billy Evans, reacted similarly.
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Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Director of Government Relations for the Beacon Center Tennessee, Jordan Long to the newsmakers line to discuss the annual 2021 Pork Report.
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Two Michigan residents were charged in criminal complaints for conducting an unemployment insurance benefit fraud scheme that stole millions.
The two defendants, Tauheed Wilder and Shuqueni Franklin, are alleged to have engaged in mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.
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This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the Small Business Administration for millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans it issued to fraudsters who used the money to purchase luxury homes, high-priced jewelry and expensive cars, including a Bentley and two Lamborghinis, according to a watchdog report.
The Paycheck Protection Program had the highest percentage of cases of criminal activity of all the pandemic relief programs, according to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s recent Semiannual Report to Congress.
“A total of 14 OIGs have indictments/complaints, arrests, and/or convictions from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021, related to the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response,” PRAC reported.
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Two Georgia residents were sentenced to federal prison, following a scheme that sought to steal the identity of elderly individuals.
The two criminals, Durrell Tyler and DeShawn Johnson, both plead guilty to charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
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