As fraud concerns ramp up across the country, particularly involving Medicaid, North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek told Fox News Digital the problem is very real in his state, especially when it comes to autism therapy, an area that has been highly scrutinized in Minnesota.

Boliek is sounding the alarm on potential waste, fraud and abuse within the state’s Medicaid program, specifically noting in an interview with Fox News Digital a 47,000% explosion in autism therapy billings he has flagged since taking office last year. 

«Those are vital services to folks and individuals that need that therapy,» Boliek said. «But when you have, like in North Carolina, a system that went from $1.4 million or so in total billings for autism therapy to more than $660 million a year in billings on autism therapy within a five-year range, that begs an audit from the state auditor, who in North Carolina, we are the top watchdog agency for taxpayer waste, fraud and abuse prevention. So, we’ve dug down into that and are in the middle of that.«

Boliek, who was speaking to Fox News Digital at the annual State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, says his office is «hand in hand» with Vice President JD Vance’s focus on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse to «make sure that the people who need the services and deserve those services get the services» without «wasting money.»

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One of the core problems, Boliek explained, is the system is oftentimes designed in a way that fails to properly safeguard against waste and abuse.

«What we’ve got is we’ve seen examples where there might be three different clinical providers billing during the same tranche of time on an autism therapy client, and that is because of poor rulemaking,» Boliek explained. «Some of it is possibly illegal and probably illegal, and we’re going to point that out, and we’re going to try to put people in cuffs because of it.

«But some of it might be technically legal because of the lax oversight from a Democrat-led Department of Health and Human Services,» Boliek said, referencing the top state health agency in North Carolina.

In a March 10, 2026, hearing of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services presented data that matches Boliek’s narrative of exponential growth in autism therapy.

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Vice President Vance and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz tackle fraud in areas such as Medicaid, hospices and durable medical equipment suppliers. (Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images)

The report confirmed that Medicaid spending on ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy grew by 347% between 2022 and 2025 alone and that total spending is projected to hit $842 million in state fiscal year 2026 and $1.14 billion by state fiscal year 2027.

Medicaid fraud has been a hot-button issue across the United States after a scandal in Minnesota gained widespread attention last fall and spreading to places like California and Ohio, the latter being the subject of a recent Daily Wire exposé examining seven medical buildings in Columbus, Ohio, that house 288 Medicaid companies and bill the government $250 million.

The key issues with Medicaid and the ease with which it can be abused both illegally and legally, according to Boliek, are the «minutiae of rulemaking» that is «built in by government.»

«For example, how individual entities, whether they are a provider of clinical medical services or whether they’re a provider of daycare services or other services that can be paid for through departments of Health and Human Services, how those rules are set up and what the billing rules are,» Boliek explained.

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«It really is minutiae, but in North Carolina, for example, we still have some services that are delivered on a fee-for-service basis, and they lack transparency and lack accountability with respect to who can bill and how much can be billed for particular services. That’s why we’ve taken a deep dive into some particular fee-for-service areas in North Carolina and are looking at provider data on exactly how those services are billed. That’s where the flaws are.«

During the developing fraud scandal in Minnesota, federal agents discovered that one suspected scammer defrauded the state’s autism treatment program of roughly $14 million and allegedly billed Medicaid for fake therapy sessions, used untrained staff and paid parents $300 to $1,500 a month to keep their kids in the program. 

The state’s autism program’s budget jumped from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he will not seek re-election during a news conference at the State Capitol in St. Paul on Jan. 5, 2026. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

«The fraud is so obvious, just simply looking at the exponential growth in some of these social services programs, that anybody kind of looking at how fast this was growing should have known that a fraud was a major reason why,» Minnesota state Sen. Michael Kreun, a Republican, told Fox News Digital in December about social services fraud in his state.

In terms of next steps in North Carolina, Boliek says his office is working with lawmakers to strengthen fraud enforcement by increasing financial accountability, expanding investigative and Medicaid audit resources and investing in staff and technology to recover misused funds. 

Boliek explained that one important tool to crack down on fraud is artificial intelligence. 

«Look, we’ve got to pour jet fuel on artificial intelligence in the area of state auditing because the fraudsters are using AI and if we’re not using AI to combat the fraud, then we’re going to be on our heels and the taxpayer isn’t going to be protected.»

He emphasized that these steps, especially enhancing oversight of programs like Medicaid, are aimed at holding individuals accountable and returning taxpayer dollars for more effective use. 

The State Financial Officers Foundation, a group of financial officers that collectively oversees more than $3 trillion in state funds, released a report earlier this year outlining how the organization safeguarded more than $28 billion of waste, fraud, and abuse in 2025 alone.

«Every wasted dollar is a dollar that can’t be spent on a person who actually needs service,» Boliek said.

After taking out five Indiana state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting, President Donald Trump and his allies are now moving on to two other top targets in upcoming Republican primaries.

They are Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 Senate impeachment trial, and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a vocal GOP critic of the president.

The decisive victories this week in reliably red Indiana scored by Trump-backed challengers were the latest sign the president’s immense grip on the Republican Party remains rock solid.

«I think Indiana sent a message to a lot of folks,» veteran Republican campaign strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News.

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Gorman, who has advised GOP presidential campaigns and top members of Congress, said the results in Indiana show that «Trump’s power within the party is unequivocal.»

Five months ago, Republicans in the GOP-dominated Indiana state Senate withstood immense pressure from Trump and his allies and voted down congressional redistricting, which would have given Indiana two more right-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms.

Eight of those state senators who are up for re-election this year faced GOP primary challenges. Seeking retribution, the president endorsed challengers to seven of those eight lawmakers.

Five of the Trump-endorsed candidates won, with just one incumbent surviving and one race still too close to call.

The political world was closely watching Indiana’s primary because it was the first of a series of major tests this month of Trump’s endorsement power in GOP nomination showdowns, and the president cleared his first hurdle with ease.

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Political groups allied with President Donald Trump spent over $10 million in Indiana’s primary to target GOP state senators who opposed Trump’s push for congressional redistricting. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump-allied groups that supported the Trump challengers and targeted the GOP incumbents spent over $10 million in Indiana as they poured resources into the races.

The intraparty battle was seen not just as a test of fealty to Trump but a fight between MAGA forces and more traditional conservatives for the future of the GOP.

One of the groups backing Trump was the politically potent Club for Growth.

«This is a big win for Trump,» Club for Growth President David McIntosh said Tuesday night.

And McIntosh, a former congressman from Indiana, said the primary victories were «a signal to the entire party that our base wants us to fight for what we believe in.»

Trump’s clout will be on the line again next weekend in the Louisiana primary.

Cassidy is facing primary challenges from two Republicans — Rep. Julia Letlow and former Rep. John Fleming, who is the state treasurer. Trump earlier this year weighed in on the race by endorsing Letlow.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is fighting for his political life as he faces off against two primary challengers this month, including one backed by President Donald Trump. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

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But since the start of Trump’s second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president’s agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement are out for revenge.

That’s because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy’s push to reform the nation’s health policies, including Kennedy’s efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations.

And last week, Cassidy voted to nix the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate.

If no candidate cracks 50% of the primary vote, the top two finishers will face off for the nomination in a June 27 runoff election.

Another major test comes three days later, on May 19, in the primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, where Massie is facing a challenge from Trump-backed Ed Gallrein.

Massie has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress, repeatedly taking aim at the president over the Epstein files and foreign policy.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is facing a challenge by Ed Gallrein, who is backed by President Donald Trump, in this month’s Kentucky primary. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Trump allies have spent big bucks to boost Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, and to take aim at Massie.

Veteran Republican strategist Tim Murtaugh, who is advising Gallrein, said the Indiana results are a major warning sign for Massie.

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«Indiana is right across the border from this district, so there’s no doubt Massie knows what those primary results mean to him. And it ain’t good news, that’s for sure,» Murtaugh told Fox News Digital. 

«It’s more evidence that Republican voters want America First candidates who will stand with President Trump rather than fight him and endlessly obstruct the agenda.»

But Massie has highlighted a surge in fundraising this year as he faces off against Gallrein.

He hauled in $2.5 million during the first three months of this year and just raked in nearly $1 million in the past week.

And Massie has criticized Gallrein for not debating, arguing this week that his challenger has «been AWOL for eight debates and forums so far.»

El primer ministro de Eslovaquia, Robert Fico, afirmó el sábado, tras reunirse en Moscú con el presidente ruso Vladímir Putin, que le envió la disposición del mandatario ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky a mantener un encuentro cara a cara o por cualquier tipo de medio para alcanzar un acuerdo de paz duradero tras más de cuatro años de guerra.

“(Zelensky) Está dispuesto a un encuentro con Vladímir Putin en cualquier formato”, declaró Fico en un video grabado desde el avión oficial de regreso a Eslovaquia. El intención transmitida al líder del Kremlin surge luego de las celebraciones en la capital de Rusia por el Día de la Victoria, el cual marca el triunfo de la URSS en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Fico se convirtió en el único mandatario de la Unión Europea en asistir al festejo de la Plaza Roja, austero en la edición de este año, y rendir homenaje ante el monumento al soldado desconocido.

El jefe de Gobierno eslovaco relató que obtuvo el mensaje de Zelensky durante la cumbre de la Comunidad Política Europea celebrada el lunes en Ereván. El dirigente político, al frente de uno de los gobiernos más eurocríticos y cercanos a Moscú de la UE, aprovechó para criticar la política exterior consensuada por sus socios comunitarios hacia Rusia.

“Una vez más se ha demostrado que es un error inmenso no tener un diálogo político con la parte rusa: si de la UE sólo llegan sanciones, esto lleva a una mayor autosuficiencia de Rusia en numerosas esferas. De la UE sólo llegan préstamos de guerra y apoyo a la guerra, algo en lo que no participamos”, sostuvo Fico.

Putin expresó hoy su disposición a concretar una reunión con el presidente de Ucrania, aunque condicionó el encuentro a la consecución de un acuerdo definitivo sobre un tratado de paz con alcance a largo plazo. “Sería posible reunirse en un tercer país, pero solo si se alcanza un acuerdo definitivo sobre un tratado de paz, que debería estar diseñado con una perspectiva a largo plazo”, afirmó Putin.

El mandatario ruso también señaló que la invasión “se acerca a su fin”, aunque advirtió que sigue siendo un asunto serio. Además, criticó a los países occidentales por su apoyo a Kiev y sostuvo que intensificaron la confrontación con Rusia, que “continúa hasta hoy”.

Por su parte, Zelensky afirmó que Ucrania celebró el Día de Europa con la convicción de ser ya una parte “inseparable” de la familia europea y de contar con el apoyo del bloque desde el inicio de la guerra iniciada por Rusia en febrero de 2022. A su vez, advirtió que el Ejército ruso de Vladimir Putin “no logrará” dividir a los aliados de Ucrania.

“Hoy es el Día de Europa. Y Ucrania lo celebra no de manera formal ni con eslóganes, sino plenamente consciente de que ya somos una parte inseparable de la familia europea”, expresó y agregó: “Estamos defendiendo Ucrania, nuestra independencia, nuestro futuro; y al hacerlo, en Ucrania estamos defendiendo nuestra Europa. Una Europa de la que Ucrania ha formado y seguirá formando parte”.

Zelensky destacó que, desde el inicio de la invasión a gran escala, Europa estuvo del lado de Ucrania, no por caridad, sino como una decisión de “estar del lado de los valientes y los fuertes, de los ucranianos que luchan hoy por la paz y por una verdadera protección contra la tiranía, no sólo para ellos mismos, sino para todo el continente”.

“Ineludiblemente defenderemos nuestro Estado, nuestro pueblo y nuestro derecho a elegir libremente nuestro futuro: un futuro en Europa”, concluyó el presidente ucraniano.

Moscú lanzó un nuevo ataque con un misil balístico y drones contra Ucrania, dos de las regiones ucranianas más importantes para Kiev en el frente de la guerra, y violó el alto el fuego el sábado por la madrugada al que se comprometió horas antes con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump.

Kiev y Moscú acordaron una tregua de tres días, del 9 al 11 de mayo. La pausa incluirá un intercambio de 1.000 prisioneros de cada bando, hasta el momento no realizada.

(Con información de EFE)