On Tuesday, the California State Assembly passed a controversial piece of legislation dubbed the &#8220;Stop Nick Shirley Act&#8221; by Republican lawmakers.
The bill, authored by Democrat Mia Bonta — the wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta — passed the State Assembly in a 57-19 vote. All who voted in favor of the bill were Democrats. 
The bill was proposed as journalists around the country have pushed to uncover government fraud, including independent journalist Nick Shirley. Shirley recently investigated misappropriation in California and Minnesota, and investigations by Daily Wire reporter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=Investigation&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Medicaid+Millionaires%3A+How+The+Feds+Pay+Immigrants+Billions+To+Hang+Out+With+Their+Families">Luke Rosiak</a> have focused on apparent Medicaid fraud in Ohio.
The bill, AB 2624, has been met with stark <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-bill-could-criminalize-fraud-reporting-republicans-warn">condemnation</a> on the Right, since its restrictions on sharing addresses of immigration providers could allegedly criminalize reporters. Engineer and writer Michael Rothman <a href="https://x.com/MichaelARothman/status/2059578838863212563">explained</a> how the bill could pose trouble to journalists.
“[Nick] Shirley showed up with a camera crew to a state-funded Somali learning center in Los Angeles,” Rothman stated. “He found 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. He posted the evidence on the internet. Under AB 2624, the fraudster operator can simply hand Shirley a business card on the way out. If he then posts the footage, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.”
Rothbaum also explained how AB 2624 contains a “reasonable fear” loophole that allows immigration services providers to sue based on their subjective notions of harm.
Bonta’s office <a href="https://bonta.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260417-setting-record-straight-ab-2624">condemned</a> the “malicious and intentional misrepresentation” of AB 2624 by Republican detractors, asserting that the bill is intended to protect unjust harm to immigration workers. 
“People working in immigrant services are being followed home, receiving death threats, and having their personal information weaponized against them,” Bonta said. “AB 2624 provides protection through the same tried and tested process California already offers to domestic violence survivors and select healthcare workers.”
Due to this debate, the wording of the bill was amended to be more accommodating to benign journalistic reporting. The bill now reads that reporting will be criminalized if the reporters are “specifically intending to incite a third person to cause imminent great bodily harm.” 
It is unclear whether the amendment to this bill will allow journalists to report freely on corruption.
The bill now faces the California Senate and is currently waiting for the Senate Committee to place it on the docket for consideration.

Nick Shirley

Democrats Pass Controversial ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’

California

Democrats

Fraud

Ohio officials are moving to overhaul the state’s anti-fraud infrastructure after The Daily Wire’s reporting exposed massive abuse inside Ohio’s Medicaid system, with top fiscal watchdogs now aligning themselves directly with Vice President JD Vance’s national anti-fraud push.
In a major development first shared with The Daily Wire, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber has joined the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), a growing coalition of state auditors, treasurers, and comptrollers focused on combating government waste, fraud, and abuse.
The move comes after Daily Wire investigations uncovered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DW+Investigation+Reveals+One+Of+The+Biggest+Government+Waste+Scandals+Hiding+In+Plain+Sight">widespread fraud</a> in Ohio’s Medicaid home healthcare programs, including cases in which convicted fraudsters were permitted to operate taxpayer-funded healthcare businesses while billing the government millions of dollars.
“We couldn&#8217;t be more excited to welcome Ohio Auditor Keith Faber as our 42nd state financial officer,” OJ Oleka, the CEO of SFOF, told The Daily Wire. “As outrageous Medicaid fraud in Ohio continues to be exposed, Auditor Faber is precisely the kind of leader needed to root it out entirely and take bold action to make the state&#8217;s programs safer for taxpayers and beneficiaries than ever before,” Oleka added.
According to Oleka, Faber’s office has already identified nearly $9 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse across state government programs. 
Faber framed the effort as part of a broader national mission among conservative fiscal watchdogs aligned with the Trump administration’s renewed crackdown on government corruption. 
“We look forward to working with other conservative fiscal officers to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse,” Faber told The Daily Wire. “Transparency and accountability with taxpayer money is a team sport.”
At the same time, Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague is pushing major reforms to Ohio’s government transparency system, known as Ohio Checkbook, which allows taxpayers to track public spending data.
Sprague’s office recently backed legislation that the Ohio House overwhelmingly passed and would dramatically expand the transparency database and increase public access to government expenditure information. 
“More than ever, taxpayers must have confidence that their hard-earned money is being used efficiently and honestly,” Sprague told The Daily Wire exclusively. “Our office stands with Vice President Vance and financial officers nationwide in our mission to not only expose waste, fraud, and abuse, but prevent it.” 
The reforms reflect a growing national movement among Republican state financial officers who increasingly view themselves as on the front lines of the Trump administration’s “war on fraud.”
Auditors across the country have begun deploying aggressive new tactics ranging from AI-assisted audits to citizenship verification systems aimed at preventing taxpayer-funded benefits from flowing to ineligible recipients.
North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek said fiscal watchdogs should prioritize taxpayers over protecting government bureaucracy.
“It’s not my job to protect government,” Boliek told The Daily Wire. “It’s my job to protect the taxpayer, and they need an advocate.”
Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon warned that political resistance often comes from those who benefit financially from bloated government systems. 
“The thing that bothers me the most is when people call the federal money coming into the state free money,” Cannon said. “No, that&#8217;s somebody&#8217;s federal tax return that is going to this program.”
The intensified focus on fraud comes as the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, spearheaded by Vance, increasingly coordinates with conservative state financial officers to uncover abuse embedded throughout federal and state programs.
For Ohio Republicans, The Daily Wire’s reporting appears to have accelerated that effort.

Ohio Statehouse

Ohio’s Fraud Crackdown Is Getting Real — And The Watchdogs Are Coming Out Swinging

Medicaid Millionaires

Ohio

Daily Wire senior investigative reporter Luke Rosiak joined the Republican Study Committee’s “Right To The Point” podcast Tuesday to break down his explosive reporting on alleged Medicaid fraud schemes in Ohio, warning that billions in taxpayer dollars are vulnerable to abuse in a system riddled with weak oversight and perverse incentives.
Rosiak, whose reporting has exposed shocking examples of alleged fraud tied to Medicaid-funded home healthcare programs, told Ohio Reps. Dave Taylor and Warren Davidson that his investigation began after the Departments of Government Efficiancy and Health and Human Services released data showing which companies were receiving Medicaid payments.
“For me as an investigative reporter,” Rosiak said. “I wanted to just take an analytical look at the data and run the numbers and see what popped up.”
What popped up, according to Rosiak, was a sprawling web of questionable providers operating in Ohio’s home healthcare system — including individuals with prior fraud convictions allegedly receiving millions in taxpayer dollars through Medicaid-funded programs.
“One of the companies is owned by a husband and wife,” Rosiak explained. “The husband has been convicted three times of fraud. The wife’s been convicted three times of theft … and they were given permission after that to start a home healthcare company that bills the government.”
Rosiak argued that the problem extends beyond isolated bad actors and instead reflects structural failures within the Medicaid system itself, particularly in programs that rely heavily on unverifiable in-home care claims.
“You can literally bill the government for ‘companionship and conversation,’” he said, describing programs where family members can receive taxpayer funds to care for relatives inside private homes.
Davidson echoed concerns about the scale of improper payments and highlighted what he described as systemic accountability failures across federal and state bureaucracies. Taylor pointed to legislation aimed at deporting non-citizens convicted of defrauding federal benefit programs.
The discussion also touched on revelations from Rosiak’s reporting that Ohio’s electronic visit verification system — intended to track whether healthcare workers actually visited patients — allegedly allowed providers to disable GPS tracking while still receiving payment. “The only reason you need privacy is if you want to defraud the government,” Rosiak said when asked why it wasn’t being logged properly.
The wide-ranging conversation eventually turned lighter, with Rosiak joking about life on his Virginia hobby farm and describing raising goats, chickens, and bees.

Luke Rosiak

Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak Torches Ohio Medicaid Fraudsters On Congressional Podcast

House Republicans

Medicaid

House Republicans are ramping up efforts to crack down on Medicaid fraud after the Department of Justice charged 15 individuals in a sprawling Medicaid fraud scheme involving more than $90 million in stolen taxpayer funds.
The effort is championed by Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN), who says it&#8217;s time for Congress to increase oversight and enforcement across Medicare, Medicaid, and federal healthcare programs. 
“For far too long, fraud has run rampant through our federal health care programs, stealing billions of taxpayer dollars from hardworking Americans,” Finstad told The Daily Wire. He said his resolution “commits congressional Republicans to continue investigating and prosecuting fraud schemes bleeding taxpayer dollars.” 
The Minnesota Republican’s proposal comes as federal investigators uncover what officials describe as increasingly sophisticated fraud operations siphoning taxpayer money from government healthcare programs.
Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) praised the effort and vowed Republicans would continue pursuing criminals exploiting the system.
“This is theft, plain and simple,” Pfluger said. “I am proud to cosponsor this resolution and support the Trump administration’s aggressive actions to hold bad actors accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Pfluger added that Republicans are committed to “cracking down on every criminal who robs taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid fraud.”
The resolution has already drawn support from a dozen House Republicans.
The renewed GOP push also commits to supporting the Trump administration’s expanding investigations into suspected Medicaid abuse across multiple states.
Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dr-oz-names-5-states-fraud-crackdown-trump-admin-targets-medicaid-abuse">told</a> Fox News Digital, &#8220;We&#8217;ve written letters to Minnesota, California, a letter to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/us-regions/southeast/florida">Florida</a> because we&#8217;re worried about the durable medical equipment fraud … New York, Maine, and there are more coming.” Oz added that while several states have already been flagged, federal officials are monitoring all 50 states. 
Despite one of the letters going to Florida, a red state, Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills <a href="https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/state-maine-responds-cms-medicaid-letter-highlights-steps-taken-under-mills-administration">labeled</a> the Medicaid investigation a predetermined “political cudgel.” 
“Addressing alleged fraud has become a political cudgel that he [President Trump] is using to desperately distract from his failing agenda,” Mills said. “And let’s be clear about who he is using that cudgel against: Democratic-led states, and people like me who dare to stand up to him.” 
Finstad’s resolution pledges House Republicans will pursue Medicaid fraud wherever it exists, in red states or blue states, arguing that taxpayer theft has no party affiliation.

Capitol Building of the United States. It houses the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate I

‘This Is Theft’: Republicans Escalate Medicaid Fraud Crackdown After $90M Bust

Congress

Nick Shirley is 24 years old. He is not a network correspondent with a corner office and a team of researchers. He is a self-made journalist with a camera, a nose for fraud, and the audacity to follow money that powerful people didn&#8217;t want followed.
For that, they nearly killed him.
In December 2025, Shirley released a viral investigation into Minnesota&#8217;s child care system; empty rooms, blacked-out windows, misspelled signs, ghost daycares enrolling impossible numbers of children while collecting millions in taxpayer money. He showed the world what anyone with working eyes could see: something was catastrophically wrong.
These children were not “learing” at daycare. They weren’t even real.
We weren’t supposed to notice. The response from the liberal media was swift and vicious.
CNN <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2006033958694162569">reported</a> that Somalis were &#8220;under attack.&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/us/somalis-fled-civil-war-and-built-a-community-now-they-are-a-target.html">said</a> the community was being targeted. Governor Tim Walz, the same man who presided over one of the most staggering fraud collapses in American welfare history, <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2005704124617155069">called</a> Nick Shirley&#8217;s investigative journalism &#8220;white supremacy.&#8221; Shirley was doxxed. Death threats <a href="https://x.com/nickshirleyy/status/2048879006947368977">arrived</a> complete with a location, a date, and a time.
On April 27, Nick recorded a <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2048874797766185022">video</a>. &#8220;Today is the day I&#8217;m supposed to die,&#8221; he said.
He is alive and well, and this week vindicated in the most definitive way possible.
On May 21, 2026, the FBI and Department of Justice <a href="https://x.com/search?q=nick%20shirley&amp;src=typed_query">announced</a> charges against 15 individuals in schemes totaling over $90 million in intended losses across Minnesota&#8217;s public health programs, the two largest Medicaid fraud cases ever charged in the district, and the largest autism-related fraud scheme the DOJ has ever prosecuted. Vice President JD Vance, chairing the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, could finally say what we already knew to be true: Nick Shirley was right.
The charges read like a catalog of the rot that Shirley, journalist <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/city-journal-daily-newsletter-nov-20-2025">Chris Rufo</a>, the Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inside+Ohio%E2%80%99s+Home+Health+Empire%3A+7+Buildings%2C+288+Medicaid+Companies%2C+%24250+Million">Luke Rosiak</a>, and others had been documenting for months. The Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention autism program — which exploded from roughly $600,000 in claims in 2018 to hundreds of millions in recent years — was being systematically looted. Clinic operators paid kickbacks of $300 to $1,500 per child per month to parents in exchange for fraudulent autism diagnoses. Medicaid was then billed for therapy sessions that never happened. Children who genuinely needed services were crowded out by a machine built entirely to steal.
The Housing Stabilization Services program — projected to cost $2.5 million annually when it launched — ballooned to $104 million before the state was forced to shut it down entirely, stranding the disabled and homeless people it was designed to serve. One of the cases charged this week involves a man who required 24-hour care. He received nothing. He was found dead. The day before he died, his provider billed Medicaid for services that, if actually rendered, might have kept him alive.
That is not bureaucratic inefficiency. That’s predation.
The same week the indictments dropped, the ringleader of the $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal, a separate but connected fraud web involving fake meal counts, fabricated invoices, and luxury real estate purchases, was sentenced to over 40 years in federal prison.
This is all just the tip of the iceberg. Luckily, Shirley saw that iceberg before the Titanic America could hit it. He pointed it out, filmed it, published it, and for roughly five months, the media told you he was the problem.
This is the playbook, and by now we should all recognize it. When someone follows the money and the money leads somewhere uncomfortable, the response isn&#8217;t accountability; it’s accusation.
Racists and Bigots and White supremacists! Oh My!
The smear is deployed not to refute the evidence but to raise the cost of noticing it. Make the journalist the story. Give the fraudsters victim status. Make the public feel crazy for believing what&#8217;s in front of their own eyes.
They made you feel crazy for refusing to wear an N-95 mask in an outdoor park, for refusing a vaccine, for wanting to keep your own money, and for voting for a pragmatic businessman instead of an establishment Democrat. Then they literally shot that businessman turned president, and tried to kill him again and again. They made you feel crazy for caring.
They made Nick feel crazy, his audience feel crazy, and all along, the empty rooms were empty, the kids didn&#8217;t exist, and the money was going to luxury cars, lavish homes, and remittances wired through informal hawala networks back to <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/city-journal-daily-newsletter-nov-20-2025">Somalia</a> instead of to the sick children and vulnerable adults it was meant to serve. Federal sources have alleged some of those funds found their way to al-Shabaab. Not a conspiracy theory. A federal allegation.
The media won&#8217;t give Nick Shirley a Peabody. They will never say they were wrong. But the FBI executed warrants at roughly 20 locations. The DOJ unsealed the charges. JD Vance said his name on camera, thereby vindicating him. That will have to do.
The Democratic establishment of 2026 is a gaslighting ex who swears the stove isn&#8217;t on, the money isn&#8217;t gone, and the kids are fine. Spoiler: the stove is on. The money is in Somalia. The kids weren&#8217;t real.
The restraining order is called a ballot. Use it.

It’s Not Crazy To Think Fraud Is Bad

DW Opinion

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the Trump administration would not rest until “justice is served” to those defrauding the American taxpayer through government welfare programs. 
Vance’s comments came shortly after the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minnesotas-latest-fraud-bust-may-be-the-most-disturbing-yet?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Minnesota%E2%80%99s+Latest+Fraud+Bust+May+Be+The+Most+Disturbing+Yet">charged</a> 15 people across Minnesota with stealing $90 million through various fraud schemes targeting Medicaid and social service programs. Fraud in Minnesota has received widespread attention after independent journalist Nick Shirley took a camera to questionable entities raking in taxpayer dollars and asked about their operations. 
“Our message is simple: if you were committing fraud, our task force will find you. We&#8217;ll come after you, and we will not rest until justice is served,” Vance said in a video message. “Don&#8217;t defraud the American taxpayer. Don&#8217;t get rich by trying to steal from them, or we are going to come after you until justice is served. That&#8217;s our promise, and we&#8217;re going to stick to it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today, the task force and the DOJ announced a massive take down of two of the largest Medicaid fraud cases in Minnesota state history, as well as the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the federal government. Our message is simple: if you’re committing fraud, we will… <a href="https://t.co/MNfkLlOY0R">pic.twitter.com/MNfkLlOY0R</a>
— JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/2057628977934524450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vance, heading up the Trump administration’s anti-fraud task force, said that the charges announced Thursday included two of the largest Medicaid fraud cases in Minnesota history and the largest autism fraud case ever brought by the federal government. 
“With this action, we&#8217;re bringing justice to some of America&#8217;s most vulnerable citizens and justice to the American taxpayer,” he said. 
Medicaid fraud has come under heavy scrutiny from Republican officials in recent weeks after Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/medicaid-millionaires">published a series</a> documenting how Ohio spent a billion dollars on home healthcare in 2024. The home healthcare services included activities such as “homemaking” and “chores” for family members. 
The report found that just seven buildings in Columbus housed 288 home healthcare businesses that billed taxpayers more than $250 million. State officials appear to do little vetting for the so-called home healthcare companies. Vance has warned that states that do not combat fraud could lose their Medicaid funding. 
The vice president noted that one of the cases brought Thursday involved a defendant accused of billing Medicaid for around-the-clock care for a disabled man who was later found dead after receiving no actual services.
“To get rich off taxpayers, even at the cost of others&#8217; lives, just as that fraudster had for many months before. This kind of behavior is sickening,” Vance said. 
Aimee Bock, the founder of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison on Thursday over a $250 million fraud case involving meals supposedly given to children during the COVID pandemic.

Vice President JD Vance Visits A Manufacturing Facility In Kansas City

JD Vance’s ‘Simple’ Message After Massive Medicaid Fraud Takedown

Department of Justice

JD Vance

Minnesota

After uncovering a billion-dollar fraud scheme in Ohio, Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak testified on Capitol Hill this week, expecting bipartisan concern, but Democrats didn’t offer it. 
Rosiak testified before the Senate Small Business Committee on Wednesday during a hearing dominated by Republican lawmakers. The only Democrat in attendance was Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), whose presence was required as the minority ranking member. 
Rosiak later quipped, “The hearing room may as well have been a learing center with the number of Democrats who showed up today,” referencing a misspelled sign outside a suspected fraudulent daycare in Minnesota. 
In his opening statement, Markey argued that the Trump administration’s recent anti-fraud initiatives have disproportionately targeted blue states, completely ignoring the fact that Rosiak just uncovered $1 billion in alleged Medicaid fraud in a red state. Markey declined to question Rosiak or any of the Republican witnesses, instead focusing his remarks on criticizing President Donald Trump.
“I agree we should be doing more to prevent fraud,” said Markey. “But we should also be focusing on the Trump-sized hole in the American people’s pockets. We should address rising gas prices, electricity costs, healthcare premiums, food prices, but instead the instances of fraud that congressional Republicans and this administration choose to focus on are solely to secure political points demonizing communities of color and attacking blue states.” 
Markey also chose not to comment on testimony from Faye Bernstein, a compliance specialist for the Minnesota Department of Human Services and a self-described lifelong Democrat. Bernstein testified that she began questioning members of her own party after raising fraud concerns and being “labeled a racist.” 
On Thursday, Rosiak <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-daily-wire-investigator-called-to-testify-on-findings-in-ohio?row=1&amp;elementPosition=9&amp;rowType=Web+Search">participated</a> in an anti-fraud roundtable hosted by the Republican Study Committee. 
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) kicked off the meeting praising Rosiak “for doing absolutely phenomenal work, uncovering a massive fraud scheme.” He added that the most amazing part was that Rosiak did it all through publicly available data. The committee discussed increasing data transparency to allow greater public access. 
Asked by The Daily Wire where the responsibility for fraud oversight should fall between Congress and investigative journalists, Gill said lawmakers should focus on using “the power of the purse” to ensure taxpayer dollars are not improperly distributed in the first place.
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) echoed that criticism, arguing that Congress is a system with warped incentives. 
“We measure effectiveness too often by how much money goes out the door, as opposed to, is it going to where it was intended and is it accomplishing what it was supposed to accomplish.”
Rosiak&#8217;s investigation focused in part on Ohio&#8217;s rapidly expanding home healthcare industry.
Rosiak found that Ohio spent roughly $1 billion on home healthcare services in 2024 alone, much of it through loosely monitored Medicaid programs that allow relatives to receive taxpayer funding for providing in-home “personal services” such as cooking, cleaning, and companionship.
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His investigation uncovered entire office buildings filled with Medicaid-billing home health companies, many run by individuals with little or no healthcare background, and in some cases histories of fraud, unpaid debts, or criminal convictions.
Rosiak partly blames weak certification standards for the problem, as the program requires a licensed professional to certify that a patient needs assistance around the house.
&#8220;It only takes one doctor who will say yes to churn out enough forms to bankrupt a state,&#8221; Rosiak said.
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Spending Bill – Government Shutdown – Debt Ceiling

Democrats Skip Hearing On Billion-Dollar Fraud Scheme Uncovered By Daily Wire

Senate Democrats

California&#8217;s federally funded Medicaid program pays for exorcisms, herbal medicines, meal deliveries, and housing, among other services that don&#8217;t appear to be medically essential, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) pointed out this week.
Kennedy brought up California&#8217;s strange Medicaid payments during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday as he questioned Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Trump administration is engaged in a nationwide effort to root out fraud and has zeroed in on Democrat-run states, including California and Minnesota.
During Tuesday&#8217;s hearing, which focused on the DOJ&#8217;s 2027 budget, Kennedy pointed out that for every $1 that California spends on Medicaid, American taxpayers spend $9 to prop up the system.
&#8220;California will actually pay a healthcare provider, I didn&#8217;t know this was a medical expertise, to pay for exorcisms,&#8221; Kennedy said.
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The Wall Street Journal editorial board brought attention to California&#8217;s exorcism coverage in an op-ed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/california-medicaid-payments-fraud-jd-vance-cms-mehmet-oz-0fdb051e?mod=opinion_lead_pos1">published</a> last week. In the piece, the Journal pointed out that exorcisms and tribal prayers are covered by Medicaid, along with activities “that support an eligible member’s inclusion in the community.&#8221;
&#8220;California Medicaid program will pay for herbal medicines, meal deliveries. They&#8217;ll pay for housing. I don&#8217;t know what housing has to do with healthcare,&#8221; Kennedy added. &#8220;Is that correct?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Blanche replied.
&#8220;Were you aware that the Medicaid program, using federal taxpayer money, will pay for an in-home chef?&#8221; Kennedy asked.
&#8220;Yes, if it&#8217;s a family member,&#8221; Blanche said.
&#8220;They&#8217;ll even pay for gymnasium fees in California. They&#8217;ll pay for bicycles, scooters, gym memberships. Did you know that?&#8221; Kennedy asked.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Blanche said. &#8220;Several states do, but California does for sure.
California has also used Medicaid funds to repay qualifying individuals&#8217; student loans &#8220;to encourage them to become a healthcare provider,&#8221; according to Kennedy.
&#8220;I was not aware of the student loans repayment,&#8221; Blanche said.
California&#8217;s Medicaid payments have come under the microscope, and the Trump administration froze $1.3 billion in federal funds for the program earlier this month. Vice President JD Vance blasted the state&#8217;s leaders last week, saying, &#8220;The state of California has not taken fraud very seriously.&#8221;
The state&#8217;s Medicaid fund has more than doubled since 2019, currently sitting at $220 billion, which is more than the entire general fund budget of any other state, according to the Journal.
Vance&#8217;s anti-fraud task force has also focused on the Republican-led state of Ohio, following an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million">investigation</a> by Daily Wire reporter Luke Rosiak that uncovered billions of dollars in dubious “personal services” payments, allowing individuals to be paid to spend time with their own family.

Exorcism

Taxpayer-Funded Exorcisms? The Medicaid Debate Just Got Wild

John Kennedy

Senate

Todd Blanche

FBI Deputy Director Christopher Raia shared video of a suspect fleeing on foot during a Thursday news conference and asked the public for help in identifying the man.
Raia explained that the Justice Department was looking for the man shown in the video in connection with the ongoing fraud investigation in Minnesota, and said that he had evaded law enforcement by jumping from a fourth-floor balcony before escaping on foot.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="MUST WATCH: FBI Drops Stunning Surveillance Video Of Fraudster Who Jumped 4 Stories To Flee Arrest" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mvviFLM9ZC4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;On the screen, you will see a subject — you will see a subject on the screen of an individual who&#8217;s a target of the investigation this morning,&#8221; Raia said, flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. &#8220;That individual is currently on the run after having jumped out of a fourth-story balcony.&#8221;
&#8220;Once again, a good look at him, you&#8217;ll see him — you&#8217;ll see him running here, he is currently on the run,&#8221; Raia continued.
The suspect on the screen appears to be hopping as he tries to run, possibly injured during his escape. He falls in the street before getting up and hopping again.
&#8220;We need your help,&#8221; Raia said. &#8220;If you recognize this individual, if you know this individual, if you can provide any information related to this individual, I would encourage you to call 1-800-CALL-FBI — or go to the internet at www.tips.fbi.gov or call your local law enforcement.&#8221;
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche <a href="https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2057522949629084038">announced</a> on Thursday that the Justice Department was indicting 15 defendants as part of the ongoing fraud investigation, saying they were tied to some $90 million in losses, including &#8220;the largest Medicaid fraud cases in the history of the district.&#8221;
&#8220;These criminals allegedly stole from our country&#8217;s most vulnerable: children with autism, the disabled, and the homeless. In one case, services were allegedly billed but never provided, leading to the death of the supposed recipient. This will not be tolerated,&#8221; Blanche added.

Screenshot/Justice Department

WATCH: Suspected Fraudster On The Run After Fourth-Floor Balcony Escape

Crime

Law Enforcement

Media

Federal prosecutors accused a Minneapolis daycare owner of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars by lying about the number of kids she was serving. 
The Justice Department charged Fahima Egeh Mahamud on Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States over a scheme involving the federally funded Child Nutrition Program and Child Care Assistance Program. In February, Mahamud was charged for her alleged role in the $250 million Feeding Our Future scam. 
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Mahamud “exploited changes in the program intended to ensure that underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic to enrich herself by fraudulently misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal child nutrition program funds.” 
The Trump administration began probing the extent of apparent widespread fraud throughout Minneapolis daycare and autism centers after videos from independent journalist Nick Shirley went viral as he looked into questionable businesses. Mahamud was <a href="https://x.com/nickshirleyy/status/2057208188970160489">featured</a> in one of those videos. 
Mahamud, who needs a Somali language interpreter at her court proceedings, ran the Minneapolis-based Future Leaders Early Learning Center, which participated in the federal nutrition program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future.
From January 2021 to July 2021, she received $854,000 in nutrition program funds for the daycare, and from October 2022 to December 2025, she was reimbursed over $4.6 million for childcare assistance claims, according to prosecutors. She is accused of not meeting requirements to collect co-payments for the childcare claims. 
Investigators say that Mahamud relied on fake meal counts, rosters, and invoices with “inflated figures” to submit her claims to the government and that she received funds that “substantially exceeded” the actual amount given to children. Mahamud’s operations served “only a fraction” of the tens of thousands of meals claimed, prosecutors said. 
Mahamud “diverted much of those taxpayer dollars for the purchase of real property, for the benefit of herself” and other companies associated with her, like Future Properties LLC and Minneapolis Autism Center Corp, according to investigators. 
Prosecutors say that Mahamud <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/daycare-feeding-our-future-fraud-charges-flee-country/">attempted</a> to fly to London after she shut down the Future Leaders center in February amid federal scrutiny. She is currently under house arrest. 
Top Trump administration officials, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are expected to travel to Minneapolis on Thursday morning to make an announcement on their efforts to crack down on fraud.

MixCollage-21-May-2026-07-31-AM-8894

Feds Charge Somali Daycare Owner From Viral Video For Making Up Fake Kids

Minneapolis

Somalia

Trump Administration

Ohio&#8217;s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy, addressed Medicaid fraud in the Buckeye State on Tuesday, following <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families">explosive reports</a> from Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak.
Rosiak&#8217;s findings have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-says-safeguards-exist-to-stop-medicaid-fraud-but-admits-massive-loophole?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Says+Safeguards+Exist+To+Stop+Medicaid+Fraud%2C+But+Admits+Massive+Loophole">exposed</a> billions of dollars of apparent Medicaid fraud in Ohio, by way of dubious “personal services” payments where people are paid to spend time with their own family. Most people who participate in the fraud appear to be foreigners.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s fair to say that, if you had not just reported the facts, as you did a few weeks ago, the people in this room, who are working hard to solve these problems, wouldn&#8217;t have the platform to actually make this a priority for our state,&#8221; Ramaswamy said of Rosiak.
The former presidential candidate won the Ohio Republican primary earlier this month. He&#8217;s facing Democrat nominee Amy Acton in Ohio&#8217;s November gubernatorial election.
&#8220;Healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, &#8230; the healthcare costs that Ohioans are bearing every day,&#8221; he said.
Medicaid is for Americans who temporarily &#8220;need a hand up,&#8221; the Republican said. &#8220;The problem is that, when you have criminals, fraudsters, thieves, claiming money for themselves, it diverts money away from those for whom these programs were intended.&#8221;
Ramaswamy said Medicaid fraud is creating higher healthcare costs for all Ohioans and Americans at large.
&#8220;The easiest solution that I will be able to deliver to you in the first six months of my leadership of this state, will be to crush Medicaid fraud by the billions,&#8221; he declared. &#8220;And to put money back in your pockets, where it belongs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Crushing Medicaid fraud is one of the simplest ways to make healthcare more affordable. Most healthcare policies force a painful trade-off between cost, access and quality, but this one doesn’t: It takes money from criminals and returns it to the families who play by the rules. <a href="https://t.co/RQJq68lG80">pic.twitter.com/RQJq68lG80</a>
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056753013327630419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Crushing Medicaid fraud is one of the simplest ways to make healthcare more affordable,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056753013327630419">posted</a> to X. &#8220;Most healthcare policies force a painful trade-off between cost, access, and quality, but this one doesn’t: it takes money from criminals and returns it to the families who play by the rules.&#8221;
Rosiak attended the event personally and addressed the crowd, detailing the fraud he&#8217;s uncovered in Ohio. Notably, in the wake of the reporting, Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vance-threatens-to-cut-funds-to-states-that-ignore-medicaid-fraud-after-daily-wire-investigation?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Vance+Threatens+To+Cut+Funds+To+States+That+Ignore+Medicaid+Fraud+After+Daily+Wire+Investigation">warned</a> that the Trump administration will cut off certain federal anti-fraud funding to states that fail to aggressively investigate Medicaid abuse.
Rosiak is set to testify before a Senate panel this week about his findings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🔴 LIVE: Crushing Fraud. Lowering Healthcare Costs. <a href="https://t.co/3hT2Jwyy2a">https://t.co/3hT2Jwyy2a</a>
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056744991477600390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-says-safeguards-exist-to-stop-medicaid-fraud-but-admits-massive-loophole?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Says+Safeguards+Exist+To+Stop+Medicaid+Fraud%2C+But+Admits+Massive+Loophole">Ohio Says Safeguards Exist To Stop Medicaid Fraud, But Admits Massive Loophole</a>

Vivek Ramaswamy, Luke Rosiak

Vivek Vows To Tackle Medicaid Fraud ‘By The Billions’ After Bombshell Daily Wire Investigation

Daily Wire

Vivek Ramaswamy

Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak is set to testify before a Senate panel this week after his scoop on Ohio&#8217;s Medicaid payment system triggered renewed scrutiny from Republican lawmakers over government waste and fraud.
Rosiak, whose recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families">“Medicaid Millionaires”</a> series uncovered what he described as billions in questionable taxpayer-funded home health payments using newly released federal billing data, is scheduled to appear before a panel convened by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the longtime Republican watchdog who has made rooting out federal waste, fraud, and abuse a signature issue. 
The hearing is expected to feature testimony not only on Ohio’s Medicaid system, but on broader failures in state-administered welfare programs that rely heavily on federal dollars.
Rosiak&#8217;s reporting generated national attention after detailing how hundreds of little-known home health companies clustered in the Columbus area, many receiving millions in taxpayer reimbursements for loosely defined “personal services” such as homemaking, companionship, and conversation. The series also highlighted that providers appeared to operate out of near-empty office buildings while billing Medicaid enormous sums.
Joining Rosiak on the Republican witness list are two Minnesota whistleblowers who raised alarms about fraud inside that state’s Department of Human Services. 
Faye Bernstein, a longtime DHS contract specialist and compliance officer, is expected to testify that she faced retaliation after flagging contracting practices she believed created serious risks for fraud. Bernstein has said DHS officials removed her from her workplace and barred her from department property after she challenged leadership over compliance failures.
Also scheduled to testify is Jay Swanson, a retired investigator who spent years probing Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program. Swanson has claimed that beginning in 2014, he uncovered an extensive fraud scheme involving childcare reimbursements that may have exceeded $100 million annually. According to Swanson, the scheme involved a network of daycare operations run by Somali immigrants.
Swanson has further alleged that his warnings were met not with enforcement action but institutional resistance, including efforts to suppress his findings and restructure his office to limit investigations.
Democrats will call Donald Sherman, the head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, as their witness, setting up a partisan clash over how best to tackle fraud in public programs while preserving social safety nets.
The hearing marks a major escalation for Rosiak’s Ohio investigation, which has already prompted public reactions from Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-medicaid-investigation-triggers-a-1-4-billion-spending-freeze?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Daily+Wire+Medicaid+Investigation+Triggers+A+%241.4+BILLION+Spending+Freeze">JD Vance</a> and Ohio GOP gubernatorial nominee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-reckoning-vivek-is-vowing-after-dw-exposed-the-medicaid-money-trail">Vivek Ramaswamy</a>. Both Republicans said they would look into potential abuse following The Daily Wire series, which found that Ohio’s Medicaid waiver system created a vast, lightly monitored industry built around billing taxpayers for in-home services that are difficult to verify.
For Republicans, the hearing offers a chance to frame state welfare fraud as emblematic of a broader federal spending crisis. Democrats will likely attempt to make the hearing a battleground over whether investigators are unfairly targeting immigrant communities while seeking cuts to entitlement programs.
A hearing date has been set for Wednesday, with testimony expected to center on whether federal and state agencies failed to detect — or ignored warnings about — fraud schemes that whistleblowers say operated in plain sight for years.
Rosiak will also testify in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday before state lawmakers about his investigative findings. While in Ohio, he&#8217;ll appear at an anti-fraud event alongside Ramaswamy.
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EXCLUSIVE: Daily Wire Investigator Called To Testify On Findings In Ohio

DOGE

waste fraud abuse

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