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Stolen IDs sold for ‘Happy Meal’ prices fuel billions in US benefit fraud
White House anti-fraud task force flags $6.3 billion in potential government fraud
White House Anti-Fraud Task Force Vice Chair Andrew Ferguson discusses the task force’s discovery of $6.3 billion in potential fraudulent government contracts, criticizing Democrat governors for allowing widespread fraud and even facilitating it for decades. Ferguson reveals examples of lavish spending by alleged fraudsters and highlights states like California and Hawaii’s failure to prosecute fraud despite receiving federal funds.
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Buying a stolen identity can cost less than a fast-food meal, enabling criminals to use AI and internet tutorials to file fraudulent benefit claims from anywhere in the world, a former inspector general warned Congress on Wednesday.
Lawmakers are already ramping up scrutiny of fraud in major federal aid programs — including unemployment, Medicaid and food assistance — as criminals leverage AI, stolen identities and online tools to exploit systems and drain billions in taxpayer dollars.
Federal watchdogs previously estimated that more than $100 billion in pandemic-era unemployment benefits alone may have been lost to fraud, much of it tied to weak identity verification and oversight gaps.
VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 447 HOSPICES IN LOS ANGELES OVER MORE THAN $600M IN SUSPECTED FRAUD
Scammers are sending deceptive tracking links that mimic real carriers, hoping rushed shoppers won’t notice red flags. (Silas Stein/Picture Alliance)
«The internet has reduced barriers to fraud,» said retired inspector general Bob Westbrooks during a House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in federally funded state programs.
«Offenders can find free tutorials online, purchase stolen identities for the price of a Happy Meal, and file claims from anywhere in the world. With automation tools, they can even submit multiple claims across multiple states,» added Westbrooks, who spent nearly three decades in public service focused on anti-fraud efforts.
He warned that «the prevalence of fraud discussions online normalizes this behavior and reduces the fear of getting caught and punished.»
Massive fraud schemes in recent years have underscored the scope of the problem, including a $250 million «Feeding Our Future» case in Minnesota that resulted in dozens of convictions, and a roughly $100 million welfare scandal in Mississippi that led to criminal charges and high-profile prosecutions.
The issue has become so glaring that President Donald Trump appointed Vice President J.D. Vance as the new ‘fraud czar’ and tasked him with addressing taxpayer theft – especially in blue states where local officials refuse to cooperate with the administration.
MINNESOTA’S ANTI-FRAUD SPENDING HAS QUIETLY BALLOONED, LEAVING TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR FAILURE TWICE
Other auditors and federal officials have pointed to systemic weaknesses in benefit programs, including payments to deceased individuals, duplicate claims filed across multiple states and limited real-time verification of eligibility.
«There’s no one-size-fits-all solution,» Westbrooks said, noting the complexity of policing massive federal programs.
«To be frank, it is simply impossible or impracticable to design a 100% fraud-proof program,» he added.
Still, Westbrooks emphasized that fraud should not be accepted as a cost of doing business.
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A person dressed as an internet hacker is seen with binary code displayed on a laptop screen in this double exposure illustration photo. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
«The American public should reasonably expect that public money is not used to pay dead people, incarcerated individuals, or duplicate claims in the same state or across states, and that public funds are otherwise appropriately safeguarded,» Westbrooks said.
«Officials should aggressively but responsibly adopt new technology tools in the fight against fraud.»
He added that safeguarding taxpayer dollars will require «a coordinated and comprehensive, risk- and data-driven approach» to reduce losses and restore public trust.
corruption crime, costs, aid, cybercrime, minnesota fraud exposed, enforcement, artificial intelligence
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El precio del petróleo se desploma tras el anuncio de acuerdo entre EEUU e Irán y el alivio en el estrecho de Ormuz
Los precios del petróleo se desplomaron y las bolsas mundiales registraron fuertes ganancias este lunes después de que Estados Unidos e Irán anunciaran un acuerdo para poner fin a la guerra que enfrentó a ambos países durante los últimos tres meses y que provocó fuertes tensiones en los mercados energéticos internacionales. La noticia también contempla la reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz, una de las rutas marítimas más importantes para el comercio mundial de crudo.
Washington y Teherán confirmaron un anuncio previo realizado por Pakistán, que actuó como mediador entre las partes. La firma oficial del acuerdo está prevista para el próximo 19 de junio en Suiza. El entendimiento pone fin a un conflicto que elevó los precios de la energía y reavivó las preocupaciones por un posible repunte de la inflación a escala global.
El estrecho de Ormuz, por donde transita aproximadamente el 20% del suministro mundial de petróleo, permanecía prácticamente cerrado desde que Teherán tomó medidas tras el inicio de las hostilidades el 28 de febrero. El conflicto comenzó después de ataques de Estados Unidos e Israel contra territorio iraní.
El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, anunció el acuerdo el domingo a través de las redes sociales. “El acuerdo con la República Islámica de Irán ya está completo”, escribió el mandatario al coincidir el anuncio con la celebración de su cumpleaños número 80.
Trump agregó: “Por la presente autorizo plenamente la apertura sin peajes del estrecho de Ormuz y, simultáneamente, autorizo el retiro inmediato del bloqueo naval de Estados Unidos”. Además, expresó: “Barcos del mundo, enciendan sus motores. Que fluya el petróleo”.
Por su parte, el viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Irán, Kazem Gharibabadi, sostuvo en una entrevista televisiva que el acuerdo supone un “fin inmediato” de la guerra. El funcionario también informó que las partes mantendrán conversaciones durante los próximos dos meses para alcanzar un “acuerdo final”.
A pesar del anuncio, el contenido específico del pacto aún no fue divulgado. El entendimiento llega después de semanas de negociaciones complejas y de reiteradas advertencias por parte de Washington sobre la posibilidad de nuevos enfrentamientos si no se alcanzaba una solución diplomática.
La reacción de los mercados fue inmediata. Los precios del petróleo registraron fuertes caídas ante la expectativa de una normalización del suministro energético mundial. El crudo estadounidense West Texas Intermediate (WTI) bajó un 5,6% y cotizó en 80,16 dólares por barril, mientras que el Brent del Mar del Norte retrocedió un 4,1% hasta los 83,77 dólares.
Ambos contratos se alejaron así de los máximos superiores a los 110 dólares alcanzados poco después del inicio de la guerra. La caída del petróleo redujo las preocupaciones sobre nuevas presiones inflacionarias que pudieran obligar a los principales bancos centrales a endurecer nuevamente sus políticas monetarias.
La semana pasada, datos sobre un aumento de los precios al consumidor en Estados Unidos durante mayo, junto con un sólido crecimiento del empleo, fortalecieron las expectativas de que la Reserva Federal pudiera elevar las tasas de interés antes de fin de año. Sin embargo, el descenso del crudo modificó parte de esas previsiones.
Las bolsas asiáticas lideraron las ganancias globales. El índice Nikkei de Tokio avanzó un 5,4% hasta los 69.593,64 puntos durante la media sesión, mientras que la plaza de Seúl también registró una subida superior al 5%, impulsada por las compañías tecnológicas y fabricantes de semiconductores.
En el resto de Asia, Shanghái ganó un 1%, Hong Kong avanzó un 0,5% y otros mercados como Sídney, Singapur, Taipéi y Wellington también cerraron en terreno positivo. En Indonesia, Yakarta subió más de un 4%, mientras que la rupia se fortaleció hasta las 17.700 unidades por dólar, su mejor nivel desde finales de mayo.
En los mercados de divisas, el euro avanzó hasta 1,1599 dólares frente a los 1,1577 del cierre del viernes. La libra esterlina también ganó terreno y se ubicó en 1,3438 dólares. Por su parte, el dólar retrocedió ligeramente frente al yen japonés.
(Con información de AFP y Reuters)
North America
INTERNACIONAL
Pakistán anunció que Estados Unidos e Irán llegaron a un acuerdo y que se firmará el viernes: Trump ordenó abrir el estrecho de Ormuz
INTERNACIONAL
Biden-appointed judge orders Trump to restore slavery, climate change references at national parks
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A Biden-appointed federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits and other materials at national parks that highlighted slavery, climate change and other leftist ideology after they were removed under a directive targeting displays deemed disparaging to America.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts, appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden in 2021, issued a preliminary injunction Friday requiring the administration to reverse the changes and pause any further removals amid legal challenges.
The move comes amid the America 250 celebrations that will crescendo on July 4.
The Interior Department in a statement called Kelley a «liberal activist judge» and said it was reviewing its options to appeal its removal of what Secretary Doug Burgum rebuked as «improper partisan ideology.»
‘ACTIVIST’ JUDGES KEEP TRYING TO CURB TRUMP’S AGENDA – HERE’S HOW HE COULD PUSH BACK
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Donald Trump sought to remove ‘improper partisan ideology,’ but a former President Joe Biden judge rebuked as a ‘liberal activist’ has ordered them to restore it. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«This ruling is from a liberal activist judge,» an Interior spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Sunday. «The Department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country – President Donald J. Trump.»
Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order, «Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,» sought to restore American heritage to national parks and monuments that were «changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history» after the race riots of 2020 that might have ultimately helped fuel Biden’s election.
Trump ordered Interior to «take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,» to ensure that all U.S. government descriptions and depictions do not «inappropriately disparage Americans past or living» – instead putting «focus on the greatness» of America.
While Kelley wrote that the plaintiffs had shown the administration’s actions were meant «to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen,» Trump said he had issued the order because of the «false reconstruction» of U.S. history under Biden, the president who appointed her.
LIZ PEEK: TRUMP DECLARES WAR ON WOKE—AND THIS BELOVED MUSEUM IS IN HIS CROSSHAIRS
Removing the disparagement of Americans and highlighting of U.S. greatness set a «dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization,» according to Kelley.
FEDERAL AGENCIES SCRUB CLIMATE CHANGE FROM WEBSITES AMID TRUMP REBRANDING
The judge also ordered the administration to file weekly status reports detailing its progress in restoring the affected materials.
Among the materials Burgum’s Interior removed were an exhibit at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park describing the ownership of enslaved people by George Washington, the nation’s first president, and signage detailing climate threats at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS
«Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,» Kelley wrote.
Trump signed the executive order to work to «restoring truth and sanity to American history» at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. Burgum later directed the removal of what he called «improper partisan ideology» from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.
«Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,» the Trump order read.
TRUMP ADMIN-MAMDANI CLASH OVER STONEWALL MONUMENT REACHES FINAL DECISIONOther changes denounced by leftist ideologues included the removal of a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona that included an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag, as well as the removal of films about labor history at Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
«What we were left, like virtually every Cabinet agency, was a complete mess from the Biden administration,» Burgum told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany on «Saturday in America,» vowing that he is «cleaning up the mess that’s been left with us.»
Shannon «SJ» Joslin, a fired park ranger, was part of a group who unfurled a trans pride flag at Yosemite last summer. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle)
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«They were doing everything from climate extremism to DEI, ESG, you name it, and they were doing it all opposed to what the American people voted for and what President Trump promised the American people we would do.»
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
national parks, federal judges, climate, us protests
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