INTERNACIONAL
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
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos ahora dice que la ofensiva militar “se acabó”, que la tregua sigue y que “solo hay escaramuzas”
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., used campaign funds to pay for a subscription to Netflix from January to March despite his long-running criticism of the streaming service’s tax practices, Federal Election Commission records show.
Over the years, Sanders has repeatedly criticized Netflix for allegedly not paying its «fair share» of taxes and for raising prices on consumers as its executives grow wealthier. In contrast to these criticisms, the senator’s campaign began paying the streaming service $46.79 a month in January to cover a «subscription.»
«Corporate greed is Netflix doubling its profit last year to a record $5.3 billion, avoiding over $1 billion in taxes [and] blaming a 10.7% price increase on ‘inflation’ squeezing $1.35 billion from its 75 million subscribers while its CEO became $200 million richer in the pandemic,» Sanders wrote in March 2022.
Sanders has also, on multiple occasions, criticized Netflix for paying $0 in federal taxes. Netflix has sharply reduced its federal tax liability for some years by using a variety of corporate tax credits.
BILL MAHER CALLS OUT BERNIE SANDERS, SAYS HE’S TIRED OF HEARING THE RICH DON’T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., hold a news conference to announce the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
«Your $8.99 Netflix subscription is more than the company paid in federal income taxes last year (nothing),» the senator posted to social media in 2019. «We are going to make massive corporations finally pay their fair share.»
Senate campaigns have only released their financial information up to March, meaning that Sanders’ donor-funded Netflix subscription may be ongoing.
Sanders’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment after being reached by Fox News Digital Tuesday morning.
UNEARTHED FEC RECORDS EXPOSES VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR’S HYPOCRISY ON TAKING CASH FROM BILLIONAIRES
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, arrives for a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)
The Vermont senator has faced criticism in the past over his use of campaign funds.
In 2023, Sanders transferred $200,000 in donor cash to the Sanders Institute, a nonprofit organization run by his wife and stepson. Since then, Sanders has continued to semi-regularly use his campaign account to fund his family charity.
«The facts present in this case and the family ties involved certainly raise legitimate concern,» Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, told Fox News Digital at the time. «If the nonprofit and its executive director are truly producing work and actually earning the money, it is not illegal, but it is frowned upon. On the other hand, if nothing or very little is being done to legitimately earn the money, then it is highly likely a serious campaign finance violation has taken place.»
ENERGY WATCHDOG EXPOSES EYE-POPPING CARBON FOOTPRINT OF SANDERS’ JET-SETTING TOUR: ‘FAKE SOCIALIST’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is seen in the Senate subway on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
The over $550,000 in donor funds Sanders in donor funds Sanders spent on private jets during his 2025 «Fighting Oligarchy» tour has also fallen under scrutiny.
«You don’t expect a socialist to fly commercial do you?» conservative political communications consultant Matt Gorman said. «There’s no bigger hypocrite than the liberal who chastises us for eating meat and using gas stoves, yet flies in private jets.»
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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates interviewed Sanders for a segment in his Netflix original series titled «What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates» in 2024.
The senator’s use of campaign funds to pay for a streaming service is relatively unusual.
Campaign finance records show that only five political committees, including one belonging to Sanders, have made payments to Netflix for expenses described as some form of subscription over the past ten years.
bernie sanders, streaming, netflix, taxes, senate elections
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Separatists in Alberta declared they now have enough signatures to trigger a vote on the province leaving Canada.
The Stay Free Alberta group said Monday it formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures after needing 178,000 names to force the province to consider such a ballot measure. The question of separation could go on a province-wide ballot as early as October, as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she would move forward if enough names are gathered and verified.
«This day is historic in Alberta history,» Mitch Sylvestre, the head of Stay Free Alberta, said Monday as he arrived at the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton leading a convoy of seven trucks to deliver the names. «It’s the first step to the next step — we’ve gotten by Round 3, and now we’re in the Stanley Cup final.»
Smith has said she personally does not support the oil-rich province leaving Canada, but she has accused previous federal Liberal governments of introducing legislation that hamstrings Alberta’s ability to produce and export oil, which she said has cost the province billions of dollars, and noted that she doesn’t want the federal government meddling in provincial issues, according to The Associated Press.
‘VEXIT’ MOVEMENT REIGNITES AS RED STATE INVITES DISENFRANCHISED VIRGINIANS TO ‘BEST VIRGINIA’
Supporters carry boxes of signatures to submit for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton on May 4, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
More than 300 supporters gathered in Edmonton on Monday, waving the provincial flag and chanting «Alberta strong.»
A «yes» vote would not trigger independence automatically, as negotiations with the federal government would have to take place.
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told the AP that despite the independence effort, liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney «is indeed popular, even in Alberta.»
RECORD ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS IN CANADA FUEL CRITICISM OF CARNEY GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Mitch Sylvestre, the head of Stay Free Alberta, holds boxes of signatures before submitting them for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton on May 4, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
«The push for independence by some Albertans predates his prime ministership, and it’s related to economic, fiscal, and political grievances about the seemingly unfair treatment of Alberta by the federal government,» Béland said. «These concerns increased during the Justin Trudeau years, but they have peaked and even declined since he left office.»
Béland added that some Indigenous groups that are already using the courts to prevent an independence referendum would use venues including the courts to stop independence from happening.
Mitch Sylvestre submits signatures for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton on May 4, 2026, as supporters fly flags behind him. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
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The petition for a referendum could face a hurdle this week as an Edmonton judge is expected to rule on a court challenge by Alberta First Nations, who say separation would violate treaty rights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
canada, mark carney, justin trudeau, elections state and local, treaties
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