Tag: Fraud

DOGE Unmasks Maddening Waste, but May Struggle to Find Permanent Spending Cuts Without Congress

Just the News
DOGE

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is delivering powerful anecdotes of wasteful government spending, inefficiencies, and fraud, but will continue to struggle to achieve permanent reductions without an act of Congress.

The DOGE website currently touts about $130 billion in savings spread across nearly every major government agency, at a total of about $807.45 per taxpayer. The effort has boasted some shocking finds, including an old mine shaft where federal employee retirement records are processed entirely by hand, $80 million in “wasted” funds at the Pentagon, and millions in controversial spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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Social Security Data Shows Millions More Eligible Recipients than Living Americans, Musk Reveals

Just the News
Elon Musk

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk on Monday posted Social Security data revealing the existence of tens of millions of eligible recipients beyond the total population of the United Sates.

“According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!

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FBI Report Estimates $5.6 Billion in Cryptocurrency Fraud Losses

The Center Square
Currency, cryptocurrency

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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Deadline to Replace Stolen Food Stamp or SNAP Benefits Looms

The Center Square

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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Hunter Biden’s Ex-Partner Cooperating in Bizarre Murder-for-Hire Prosecution, Court Records Show

Just the News

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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Unemployed Man in Franklin, TN ‘Donated’ Nearly $16,000 to ActBlue Through More than 2,600 Individual Contributions

Peter D'Abrosca
ActBlue

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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Election Integrity Becomes More Mainstream Despite Democratic Opposition

Just the News
Voter Registration

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 AG Skrmetti Launches Probe into Attempted Foreclosure of Elvis Presley’s Iconic Graceland Home

Kaitlin Housler
Jonathan Skrmetti Graceland

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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Fraud Costs the Federal Government up to $521 Billion a Year

The Center Square
Money Waste Government

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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Democrat Activist Faces Decades in Prison After Virginia Jury Convicts on Fraud Charges

Tom Pappert
Derickson K Lawrence

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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Election Irregularities, Fraud Have Led Courts to Overturn, Order Several New Elections in 2023

Just the News

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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Biden Energy Department Ill-Prepared to Combat Fraud as it Spends Billions on Infrastructure

Just the News

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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Dr. Malone: Pfizer and Moderna Committed Fraud by Not Disclosing to Regulators COVID Jabs Contaminated with DNA Fragments

Admin

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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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes More Bills Including Election Policies and School Safety

Neil Jones

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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Michigan Doctor Sentenced to More Than 16 Years for His Role in Healthcare Fraud, ‘Shots-for-Pills’ Scheme

The Center Square

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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Trump Calls for ‘Termination’ of Election rules in Constitution after Release of the Twitter Files

Just the News

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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Former Minnesota AG Ellison Staffers Say His Office Could Have Done More to Stop ‘Feeding Our Future’ Fraud

Admin

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 Pushes Prosecutions for Illegal Voters

Hannah Poling

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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Florida AG, FTC Taking Legal Action to Shut Down COVID-19 Scam Targeting Minority-Owned Small Businesses

The Center Square

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 James Craig Short on Signatures, May Not Qualify for Ballot

Cooper Moran

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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Two Georgia Physicians Forced to Pay Millions Over Allegations of Kickback Scheme

Cooper Moran

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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Arizona Consumers Mistreated by Predatory Lender to Receive Refunds

Kaitlin Housler
Mark Brnovich

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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Middle Tennessee Man Charged in Million-Dollar Investment Fraud Scheme

Morgan Nicole Veysey

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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State Labor and Industry Department Addresses Unemployment Fraud for Pennsylvania House Committee

The Center Square

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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Ohio Attorney General Yost to Hold Forum on Elder Abuse After Esther’s Law Passed

Peter D'Abrosca

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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Smyrna, Tennessee Man Allegedly Used Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Gains to Buy a Maserati Sports Car, Semi-Trailer Truck, and More

Morgan Nicole Veysey
several $100 bills

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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Knoxville Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding COVID-19 Economic Relief Programs

Morgan Nicole Veysey

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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Elizabeth Holmes Guilty on Four Counts of Fraud and Conspiracy

Admin

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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