The Trump administration uncovered what it says is more than $8 billion in potentially fraudulent cross-border wire payments that were made under foreign agents’ direction, issuing new guidelines for nonprofits who take foreign money, executing multiple FBI search warrants and building out a large-scale indictment.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department said it identified suspicious wire payments from 2021 to 2025 that were sent through U.S.-based money services businesses at the direction of foreign agents.

«When greed meets negligence, the American people suffer,» Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement to Digital. «Under President Trump and Vice President Vance’s leadership, Treasury stopped nearly $190 million in funds tied to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to U.S. victims. We are working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help prevent this kind of abuse from happening again, in Minnesota or anywhere else.»

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MAP TRACKING BILLIONS IN SUSPECTED FRAUD

Bessent, FBI Director Kash Patel, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson held a news conference in Minnesota to detail the substantial fraud uncovered and FBI Minnesota’s actions.

The Treasury Department issued a notice urging banks to scrutinize nonprofits’ donors, funding streams and ties to other groups and governments. FinCEN says the arrangements could obscure the ultimate recipients and potentially be exploited for money laundering or terrorist financing.

WATCHDOG UNLEASHES DATABASE TO EXPOSE ‘LOOPHOLES’ AS $5B IN FOREIGN CASH FLOODS US NONPROFITS

The notice noted that bad actors commit fraud in three forms of abuse: sham charities allegedly diverting funds to illicit activity, charity-related fraud that enriches the people running the scheme, and embezzlement by insiders at legitimate organizations.

Salim Said, a co-conspirator in the Feeding Our Future case, was sentenced to 30 years in prison this week after being convicted on 21 counts tied to a scheme that defrauded a federal child nutrition program of $49 million.

At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage by Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the «Quality Learing (sic) Center,» that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants.

MINNESOTA MAN CAPTURED IN SOMALIA AFTER ALLEGEDLY HELPING ORCHESTRATE $250M CHILD NUTRITION FRAUD SCHEME

The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities.

The Treasury secretary has previously taken aim at fraud and bad actors funding nonprofit organizations in the U.S. In April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tightened tax-exempt reporting requirements in an effort to uncover nonprofit funding being used for «extremist activity» and «hiding fraud.»

«Tax-exempt status is not immunity from scrutiny,» Treasury Assistant Secretary and acting IRS chief counsel Ken Kies wrote in a statement. «If an organization receives public funds or tax-deductible donations, it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes.»

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Bessent has also been involved with the Department of Justice’s grand jury probe into the nonprofit network of Neville Roy Singham. Sources at Treasury told Digital that Bessent met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and discussed Singham’s previously held accounts at the bank, which Singham used to distribute funds to a number of nonprofits.

HOUSE PANEL WARNS SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS: COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS OR FACE CONGRESS

Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations.

Singham has not been charged, and the investigation at the Southern District of New York remains ongoing.

politics, minnesota fraud exposed, scott bessent, kash patel, corruption crime, corruption, fbi

FIRST ON FOX: Four U.S. cities will share almost $300 million in federal funding after competing to show how they would reduce violent crime and strengthen local law enforcement.

Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri, were selected for the Justice Department’s new Model Cities Initiative, according to details obtained by Digital.

The four winners represent markedly different policing environments, from Jacksonville, where murders have fallen sharply in recent years, to Baton Rouge, where officials have struggled with a significant officer shortage, and Jackson, where DOJ says officials proposed a technology-driven strategy to combat persistent violent crime.

Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ leaders will visit each city over the next 10 days to present the awards, when the department plans to reveal the individual funding amounts.

KASH PATEL TO TOUT ‘LARGEST’ YEAR-TO-YEAR VIOLENT CRIME DROP IN US HISTORY

The DOJ launched the competition in June as part of President Donald Trump’s focus on reducing crime in U.S. cities. It invited cities nationwide to submit comprehensive plans for reducing violent crime and improving public safety.

The awards could represent a sizable addition to the cities’ existing law enforcement budgets.

Jacksonville budgets about $674 million annually for its sheriff’s office, while St. Louis budgeted about $147 million for its police department in fiscal 2026. With nearly $300 million to be divided among just four jurisdictions, each award could amount to tens of millions of dollars, though DOJ has not yet disclosed how the funding will be split.

BILL BARR SAYS TODD BLANCHE ISN’T ‘A TOADY,’ URGES SENATE TO CONFIRM TRUMP’S AG PICK

«The Model Cities Initiative reflects the Trump Administration’s commitment to reducing crime across the country and ensuring the safety of every American,» Blanche said.

«These cities are setting an example of proactive law enforcement that will strengthen the rule of law and improve public safety in their jurisdictions. As violent crime rates continue to fall to historic lows, the Department of Justice is redoubling our efforts to invest in local communities and keep American families safe.»

Rather than funding a single policing program, the initiative takes what DOJ describes as a «whole-of-city» approach, bringing together law enforcement, local government officials and community partners to develop strategies tailored to each jurisdiction’s public safety challenges.

The money can be used to hire sworn and non-sworn law enforcement personnel and other public safety workers, purchase technology and equipment, expand forensic capabilities and fund programs addressing mental health, substance abuse and recidivism.

Jacksonville’s selection comes after a sharp drop in killings. The city recorded 59 murders in 2024, its lowest total since at least 1995 and less than half the number recorded a year earlier, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. DOJ said murders fell 38% between 2023 and 2025, while robberies declined 25% and aggravated assaults fell 21%.

DOJ pointed to Jacksonville’s use of advanced training and technology and efforts to strengthen investigative capabilities in selecting the city. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which has more than 3,600 police, corrections and civilian employees, has an annual budget of roughly $674 million.

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St. Louis’ selection is particularly notable given the city’s long struggle with violent crime. The city recorded 263 homicides in 2020, but that figure fell to 150 in 2024, its lowest total since 2013, as overall crime declined 15% year over year.

The decline continued into 2025, when homicides during the first three months of the year fell another 45% compared with the same period a year earlier.

DOJ said St. Louis’ proposal calls for expanding law enforcement personnel by more than 300, modernizing policing technology and strengthening public safety operations.

Baton Rouge is confronting a different challenge: manpower. The Baton Rouge Police Department was roughly 150 officers short earlier this year, prompting officials to approve what they described as the largest police pay raise in department history. Starting salaries increased from $40,000 to $58,000 as part of an effort to recruit and retain officers.

The department also operates a Real Time Crime Center that uses data analytics and other technology to support officers and investigators.

DOJ said East Baton Rouge Parish stood out for its partnerships among law enforcement, local government and community organizations and its broader approach to combating violent crime.

Jackson, Mississippi, meanwhile, was selected for what DOJ described as an ambitious, technology-driven strategy to address persistent violent crime.

The Jackson Police Department already operates a Real Time Command Center and specialized units focused on gun crime, vice and narcotics and other investigations, while assigning officers to outside task forces. Its proposal calls for greater coordination among law enforcement agencies, expanded investigative capabilities and targeted enforcement, according to DOJ.

«President Trump and this Department of Justice have demonstrated that Americans need not accept unsafe streets as a fact of life,» Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said. «We have made tremendous strides in restoring public safety, and the Model Cities Initiative offers an opportunity to build on that progress. These cities have the potential to set a new standard for safer communities across America.»

The four winning jurisdictions will now work with DOJ to finalize and implement their public safety plans.

Blanche and other Justice Department officials will travel to all four jurisdictions over the next 10 days to present the awards in person and reveal how the nearly $300 million will be divided among them.

crime world, politics, police and law enforcement, justice department, state and local, florida, louisiana

Las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras (FFAA) localizaron y aseguraron una plantación con aproximadamente 16,000 arbustos de supuesta hoja de coca en el sector montañoso de Ojo de Agua, en la aldea El Carbón, departamento de Colón, durante un operativo desarrollado este viernes como parte de las acciones contra las actividades vinculadas al narcotráfico.

De acuerdo con la información divulgada por la institución castrense, el cultivo se encontraba distribuido en un terreno de unas tres manzanas de extensión, en una zona montañosa donde se ejecutaron labores de vigilancia y reconocimiento para identificar posibles actividades ilícitas.

El hallazgo se produjo en el marco de las operaciones de apoyo a la Agencia Nacional contra el Crimen, con la participación de equipos tácticos del Décimo Quinto Batallón de Fuerzas Especiales, que se desplazaron hasta el sector de Ojo de Agua para desarrollar las acciones operativas.

Durante la intervención, los efectivos militares ubicaron los arbustos que, según la información preliminar, corresponderían a una plantación de coca. Posteriormente, procedieron a asegurar el área donde se encontraba el cultivo.

Las autoridades no detallaron en la información divulgada si durante el operativo se registraron capturas, si se identificó a los responsables de la plantación o si se encontraron otros elementos que permitan establecer quiénes estarían detrás de la actividad.

Además de la plantación, los militares encontraron una infraestructura artesanal presuntamente destinada al manejo de insumos relacionados con actividades de narcotráfico, según informó la institución a través de sus redes sociales.

El hallazgo de esta estructura constituye otro de los elementos relevantes de la intervención, debido a que podría estar relacionado con las actividades desarrolladas en el terreno.

Sin embargo, las Fuerzas Armadas no ofrecieron detalles adicionales sobre las características de la instalación, los materiales que se encontraban en su interior ni el posible uso específico que se le daba.

La información oficial se limita a confirmar la localización y el aseguramiento de los aproximadamente 16,000 arbustos, así como de la estructura artesanal encontrada durante las operaciones en el departamento de Colón.

Este tipo de intervenciones forma parte de los esfuerzos de las autoridades hondureñas para identificar terrenos utilizados presuntamente para el cultivo de plantas relacionadas con la producción de drogas y detectar posibles instalaciones asociadas con estas actividades ilícitas.

Las Fuerzas Armadas señalaron que mantienen el desarrollo de operaciones estratégicas en diferentes sectores del territorio nacional, con el objetivo de prevenir y combatir actividades ilícitas, desarticular posibles estructuras vinculadas al narcotráfico y fortalecer las condiciones de seguridad para la población hondureña.

La institución militar indicó que continuará ejecutando acciones de vigilancia y control en zonas identificadas como puntos de interés para las autoridades, con la finalidad de localizar cultivos ilícitos y contribuir a su erradicación.

En el caso de la aldea El Carbón, la operación se concentró en un sector montañoso de Ojo de Agua, donde los equipos tácticos encontraron la plantación que abarcaba aproximadamente tres manzanas de terreno.

La extensión del cultivo y la cantidad de arbustos reportados convierten el hallazgo en una intervención relevante dentro de las acciones anunciadas por la institución.

Las autoridades no informaron cuánto tiempo llevaba establecida la plantación, el terreno no había sido identificado previamente como un posible punto de cultivo de coca. Tampoco se proporcionaron estimaciones sobre la cantidad de producto que podría obtenerse de los arbustos localizados.

Estos datos serán importantes para establecer la dimensión de la actividad detectada y determinar si el lugar estaba vinculado con una estructura de mayor alcance dedicada al narcotráfico.

corresponsal:Desde Tegucigalpa, Honduras