BOSTON— Federal authorities arrested 11 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts they say are tied to a massive taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scheme that exceeded $1 million.
The Justice Department <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/06/18/11-illegal-aliens-indicted-14-million-benefit-fraud-scheme-massachusetts">announced</a> charges against a total of 15 alleged fraudsters, which includes the 11 illegal aliens, during a press conference on Thursday in Boston. Several of the accused fraudsters are &#8220;John Does&#8221; who used stolen identities and their names remain unknown.
Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department&#8217;s fraud division, said federal investigators are &#8220;still working&#8221; to determine the &#8220;true identities&#8221; of the unnamed fraudsters.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t know who they are fully, but we do know who they are not. They are not the American citizens they pretend to be, and from that initial lie the charges [announced] today allege that they gained access to the buffet of benefits generously given by the American taxpayer for needy Americans,&#8221; McDonald said.
&#8220;In some cases, the victims of these crimes, the rightful beneficiaries of these funds, could not access benefits they needed. And why? That was because their identities had been stolen and their names had been already used in the programs to steal benefits. In other words, American citizens were boxed out of these programs because illegal aliens took their names to then take their money, or more accurately your money, the American taxpayer&#8217;s money. Illegal immigration carries real and substantial costs to American taxpayers and places enormous strain on our public benefits systems. And the further we look, the more fraud we find,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨Justice Department CHARGES 11 ILLEGAL ALIENS Among 15 in $1.4M Benefit Fraud Crackdown in Massachusetts
“These cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America’s safety-net by illegal aliens,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.… <a href="https://t.co/ZvUH6yhQA5">pic.twitter.com/ZvUH6yhQA5</a>
— National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) <a href="https://x.com/DOJFraudDiv/status/2067637738635960615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Among those charged was 56-year-old Dominican national Santo Escolastico Cuello who allegedly committed aggravated identity theft and made false statements relating to a health care program in connection with $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.
One of the accused illegal immigrant John Does is charged with false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to a health care program in connection with MassHealth fraud totaling $75,000 and aggravated identity theft.
Another John Doe is charged with illegal acquisition or use of SNAP benefits, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft in connection with SNAP benefit fraud totaling $11,000.
Federal authorities also charged Mario Baez Romero, a 45-year-old Dominican national who was living in Somerville, Massachusetts, with aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with $26,942 in SNAP fraud, and $48,785 in MassHealth fraud. He was encountered by federal authorities on a recreational boat near Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, in May.
One of the suspects, Indian illegal immigrant Mitul Patel, 40, allegedly <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/eleven-indian-nationals-charged-visa-fraud-conspiracy">staged</a> at least six false armed robberies of a convenience store to allow the alleged victims, including himself, to seek U visas for victims of violent crimes.
Another accused fraudster was previously convicted in Massachusetts on federal drug charges, officials said.
Authorities are still working to identify the John Does and have asked the government of the Dominican Republic for assistance, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said during Thursday&#8217;s presser.
Illegal immigrants have traditionally flocked to Massachusetts for the state&#8217;s generous public benefits system, including state health care programs, McDonald told The Daily Wire&#8217;s Kassy Akiva during an interview that followed the press conference.
McDonald also called out Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its demands for the state to hand over data on SNAP applicants and recipients.
&#8220;Things like being transparent for the records that the state maintains because the state is responsible. Not only do they receive the money from the federal government, we give them the money. They are then responsible for the verification checks, the eligibility checks. We are asking and we have been asking for them to give us those records so that we can see and we can pressure test, just make sure that fraud&#8217;s not happening, but they refuse to give us those records,&#8221; McDonald said.
&#8220;It begs the question of what are you trying to hide,&#8221; he said.

Texas Governor Abbot Continues To Send Migrants To DC

Feds Nab Nearly A Dozen Illegal Aliens Tied To Massive Fraud Scheme

Department of Justice

Fraud

Illegal Immigration

Massachusetts

The FBI arrested a Somali-born man accused of stealing $4 million from a federal food program for children in need through his participation in the nation’s largest COVID-era scam. 
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that 47-year-old <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/most-wanted-fraudsters/said-abdullahi-ereg">Said Abdullahi Ereg</a> surrendered to federal authorities after being wanted since 2024 on fraud charges. Ereg was placed on the “Most Wanted Fraudsters” last week over his alleged involvement in the massive $250 million Feeding Our Future scam.
“When [Vice President] Vance led the way for the Most Wanted Fraudsters list through the [White House Fraud Task Force] — this was exactly the righteous goal the Task Force had in mind — to bring to justice all those who have stolen money from hardworking American taxpayers,” Patel said. “This historic result is only the beginning — and let it be a message to any fraudster who takes advantage of America, this team will find you.”
The FBI said that Ereg took $4.2 million in government payments to his Minneapolis-based grocery and deli to supposedly provide meals through the Federal Child Nutrition Program between April 2020 and April 2021. Ereg&#8217;s grocery was sponsored by the fraudulent Feeding Our Future program. 
“Ereg allegedly transferred most of the money to fund his family&#8217;s lavish lifestyle,&#8221; the FBI said. &#8220;He also allegedly transferred money to foreign accounts controlled by foreign companies.&#8221;
Ereg’s grocery store purported to serve “3,000 meals, twice a day, seven days a week” but in actuality only served a “fraction of those meals,” according to prosecutors. In total, he claimed to have served 1.4 million meals to children. 
The money was instead used for purchases of high-end brands like Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Canada Goose and sent to a foreign textile company, according to the indictment. Ereg transferred some $2.5 million funds received from government payouts to foreign accounts controlled by foreign companies, prosecutors said. 
Hundreds of thousands of dollars went toward the purchase of a home in New Hope, Minnesota, and the Somali-founded Quick Chain Trading Company and the Chinese-based Shaoxing Aifan Textile Company, according to the indictment. 
The suspected fraudster faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The criminal proceedings for Ereg will take place in federal court in Minnesota. 
Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding Our Future, was sentenced last month to 500 months in prison for her role in the exploitation of the child nutrition program during COVID. She and others created dozens of shell companies to funnel federal dollars that were supposed to go toward feeding kids. 
Under the direction of Vice President JD Vance, the Trump administration is focusing on cracking down on fraud. Federal officials are investigating in Ohio after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families">reported</a> on the state’s questionable payments for a taxpayer funded home healthcare program.

MixCollage-11-Jun-2026-07-15-AM-3526

Feds Arrest ‘Most Wanted Fraudster’ Accused Of Using Taxpayer Dollars For ‘Lavish Lifestyle’

JD Vance

kash patel

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Somalia

Vice President JD Vance tasked the Justice Department with probing accusations that Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz looked the other way while fraudsters bilked the state’s social services for upwards of $9 billion. 
Vance referred the Walz administration to the DOJ on Monday night after the House Oversight Committee released a <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-bombshell-report-exposing-rampant-fraud-plaguing-minnesotas-taxpayer-funded-social-programs/">lengthy report</a> accusing Walz and Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison of allowing their state to be systematically defrauded. The committee also accused Walz of targeting whistleblowers who tried to warn state officials about vulnerabilities in the system. 
“I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation,” Vance <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/2064146608518746499/photo/2">announced</a> on X. “Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and [intimidated] whistleblowers, they must face justice.”
Leading the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on fraud, Vance sent the referral to Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, the head of the newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division. 
The 200-page report from the House Oversight Committee said that the Walz administration’s lax efforts to combat fraud led to $300 million in federal child nutrition aid being lost and put up to $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds in jeopardy. 
The committee said that Walz and Ellison were aware of major flaws in Minnesota’s administration of welfare benefits since 2019, but took no corrective action. Instead, Walz’s administration took action to target whistleblowers, the House report said. 
“If state officials in Minnesota or anywhere else in the country facilitated fraud or looked the other way while this theft was happening, if they actively prevented state and federal officials from stopping fraud and bringing fraudsters to justice, or if they intimidate and harassed whistleblowers who courageously tried to shine a light on the problem, they must be held accountable,” Vance wrote to McDonald. 
The Trump administration has focused on Minnesota in its anti-fraud crackdown. The White House shut down federal assistance payments to the state after independent journalist Nick Shirley published multiple videos showing apparent widespread fraud at so-called daycare centers. 
The administration is also taking action in Vance’s home state of Ohio after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/medicaid-millionaires">reported</a> on Ohio’s administration of funds to questionable businesses that claim to administer home healthcare.

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-VANCE-WALZ

Vance Brings The Heat After Bombshell Report On Fraud Under Walz

Tim Walz

A California fraudster used a carbon-offset program to cover up a multi-year scheme that resulted in at least $248 million in losses to investors and lenders. 
Joseph Sanberg was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aspiration-partners-co-founder-sentenced-prison-248m-scheme-defraud-investors-and-lenders">sentenced</a> on Monday to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud-related charges connected to the company’s sustainability business. 
Aspiration originally operated as a financial technology company but later expanded into environmental services, including tree-planting and carbon-offset programs that turned out to be fraudulent. Theoretically, businesses could purchase these services to help offset their carbon emissions, but court documents say the intention to actually purchase those services was never there. 
Sanberg aligned himself with the Democratic Party in California, personally donating $11 million to back a ballot initiative to raise the state&#8217;s minimum wage to $18 an hour, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-anti-poverty-activist-and-dem-mega-donor-pleads-guilty-to-massive-carbon-credit-scam">reported</a>. Ultimately, it would be California&#8217;s clean energy policies that would allow Sanberg to turn his company into a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.
He labeled himself as an &#8220;anti-poverty activist.&#8221; Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney of the Central District of California, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-anti-poverty-activist-and-dem-mega-donor-pleads-guilty-to-massive-carbon-credit-scam">said</a>, &#8220;This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.&#8221;
Prosecutors allege Sanberg’s “friends and associates” submitted letters of intent from various companies and individuals. Sanberg would then book the letters of intent as revenue, inflating Aspiration’s revenue and profits, which he would in turn use to advertise to investors and obtain millions in new Aspiration investments.
In some cases, Sanberg “went so far as to provide the money to his &#8216;customers&#8217; which they would then send to Aspiration.”
Court filings in separate litigation have also alleged that several entities connected to Sanberg&#8217;s associate, Kfir Gavrieli, signed agreements to purchase large amounts of sustainability services. Those entities allegedly included Gavrieli&#8217;s footwear company, a family-owned business, a synagogue, and other individuals or organizations. 
Employees raised concerns when the revenue suggested in the letters of intent was not collected. KPMG, one of the country&#8217;s largest auditing firms, resigned as Aspiration&#8217;s auditor in 2022, citing revenue transactions with characteristics of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2025/comp26382.pdf">alleged</a> that revenue tied to the letters of intent accounted for roughly $44 million of Aspiration&#8217;s $100.6 million in reported 2021 revenue. The SEC says that, as a result, Sanberg was able to raise more than $300 million from investors based on the false appearance of Aspiration as a booming sustainability business. 
Investigators were struck not only by the size of the alleged purchases, but by who was making them. Having Gavrieli as a customer raised eyebrows because it included organizations and individuals that appeared to have little need for large-scale carbon-offset purchases. 
A footwear company, typically, would not be required by California law to buy millions of trees or large volumes of carbon offsets, which caused the government to examine whether these were genuine commercial purchases. Typical participants of California’s carbon-offset program include oil refineries, industrial facilities, and natural gas suppliers. 
While Sanberg has already pleaded guilty in the Aspiration fraud case, allegations involving Gavrieli remain the subject of ongoing civil litigation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. Court filings submitted by Dikla Gavrieli, Kfir&#8217;s sister and legal adversary, allege that Gavrieli and several entities connected to him participated in a scheme that helped create the appearance of strong demand for Aspiration&#8217;s tree-planting and sustainability services. Gavrieli has not been criminally charged in connection with the Aspiration fraud, and the allegations against him have not yet been proven in court.

LA Conservation Corps plant a tree at a Tree planting to reforest Stetson Ranch Park in Sylmar after the 2008 devastating wildfire.

Sustainability Start-Up Founder Who Is Major Dem Donor Sentenced For Massive Fraud Scheme

California

Carbon Emissions

Securities and Exchange Commission

A Democratic state senator said she almost cried after Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak discussed his Medicaid fraud findings during congressional testimony on Wednesday.
Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nickie Antonio, whom lawmakers also questioned Wednesday, claimed that the hearing was full of &#8220;hateful rhetoric.&#8221;
&#8220;I was almost brought to tears just now because the rate and level of hateful rhetoric &#8230; the lack of humanity &#8230; I am shocked,” she said.
WATCH:
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As part of his testimony before the House Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses led by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), Rosiak revealed that 100% of the companies he found suspected of Medicaid fraud were owned by foreigners. 
“You looked into hundreds of companies, and 100% you are telling me had names of a Somali, Bhutanese, or other sort of an African origin?” asked Gill. 
“Correct,” Rosiak answered. 
Earlier in the hearing, Rosiak explained that “Refugees are using [Medicaid] to bring money back to their home countries. So Congress created this program as medical aid and there are people turning it into foreign aid.” 
After Gill finished his line of questioning for Rosiak, he turned to Senator Antonio and asked her, “Has Somali immigration been good for your state?” 
&#8220;You know, that&#8217;s really outside of my purview of information,&#8221; she said.
Through his investigations, Rosiak found that Ohio spent roughly $1 billion on home healthcare services in 2024 alone, with most of the funds loosely monitored. The lack of oversight allowed relatives to receive taxpayer funding for providing in-home “personal services” such as cooking, cleaning, and companionship.
Rosiak found 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.
At another point during the hearing, a Democratic lawmaker who did not have permission to attend the hearing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-dem-shouts-over-daily-wires-luke-rosiak-calls-his-medicaid-fraud-findings-ridiculous">interrupted</a> Rosiak and called his findings &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221;
“I’m not waived in the committee, but this is ridiculous,” Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) exclaimed as Rosiak was in the middle of his testimony.
Brown, who represents Ohio’s 11th district covering Cleveland, is not even a member of the bipartisan task force, which includes six Republicans and four Democrats.

Luke Rosiak

Democrat Witness ‘Almost Brought To Tears’ After Luke Rosiak’s Medicaid Fraud Testimony

Daily Wire

Medicaid

Ohio

A furious Democratic lawmaker interrupted Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak’s Capitol Hill testimony on Wednesday, shouting over Rosiak as he spoke about the massive Medicaid fraud he exposed as part of an explosive, multi-part <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">investigation</a>.
“I&#8217;m not waiting on the committee, but this is ridiculous,” Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) exclaimed as Rosiak was in the middle of his testimony. 
Brown, who represents Ohio’s 11th district covering Cleveland, is not even a member of the <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittee/task-force-on-defending-constitutional-rights-and-exposing-institutional-abuses/">bipartisan task force</a>, which includes six Republicans and four Democrats. 
&nbsp;
WATCH:
<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=FZdseO4FmkM9f4yxLAyVp4wn01ghMSqpA&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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“This is not your committee. You are not recognized,&#8221; Chairman Gill responded. 
“This is absolutely absurd,” Brown replied. 
Another Democratic lawmaker jumped in, questioning the fairness of the hearing. 
“I hope you’re gonna be fair in this hearing,” Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA) said. 
On Wednesday, the House Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses held its first hearing, dubbed “Universal Basic Fraud: Vulnerabilities in Medicaid Waiver Programs.” Task Force Chairman Brandon Gill (R-TX) said the task force is “going after institutions that stopped fearing accountability and abused the American people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/lukerosiak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LukeRosiak</a> blew the lid off one of the biggest Medicaid fraud scandals in the country.
Tomorrow, he testifies before my Task Force &#8211; and we start holding people accountable. <a href="https://t.co/QSOS9dfC4K">pic.twitter.com/QSOS9dfC4K</a>
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) <a href="https://x.com/RepBrandonGill/status/2061860894397673546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<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=5&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">Recent reporting</a> by The Daily Wire highlighted how state oversight agencies failed to stop shell companies from allegedly operating out of empty offices that billed taxpayers for services that were never performed.
On Capitol Hill, <a href="https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2062182280001364241?s=20">tensions flared</a> as Rosiak detailed the scope and enablers of the rampant fraud.
“Companies are committing fraud by paying kickbacks for no-show jobs. The patients are committing fraud, but we&#8217;re just beginning to look into the root of the monster, the network of doctors who rubber-stamp this fraud,” Rosiak said. “That&#8217;s a criminal enterprise.” 
Republican members of the committee appeared more receptive to The Daily Wire’s reporting. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) entered all five of Rosiak’s investigative reports on fraud into the Congressional Record.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congressman <a href="https://x.com/ByronDonalds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ByronDonalds</a> just had ALL FIVE of <a href="https://x.com/lukerosiak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lukerosiak</a>&#8216;s Medicaid fraud investigations introduced into the Congressional Record!
Be like <a href="https://x.com/RepDonaldsPress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepDonaldsPress</a>. Head over to <a href="https://x.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> and read the stories now.<a href="https://t.co/JYfe3pak1g">https://t.co/JYfe3pak1g</a>
— Tim Rice (@TimRiceDC) <a href="https://x.com/TimRiceDC/status/2062185475884896353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
Before the chaos, Rosiak detailed how members of the Somali community in Columbus, Ohio, have exploited healthcare programs. 
“Whistleblowers in the area tell me companies knock on doors in ethnic neighborhoods where most people are on Medicaid, and most people live in multi-generational households, and they tell the older family member to go to particular doctors and plan particular symptoms,” Rosiak testified to the committee. “Then they will put the younger family member on their payroll with the parent as their only patient.”
&#8220;I visited hundreds of home healthcare companies and only saw, I think, two people who didn&#8217;t have an accent,&#8221; he added.
WATCH ROSIAK&#8217;S FULL OPENING STATEMENT:
<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=XNSXEdHLUAbUM00m9tFXimVJm01a3gW4AZ&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Untitled design – 2026-06-03T111339.861

WATCH: Dem Shouts Over Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak, Calls His Medicaid Fraud Findings ‘Ridiculous’

Congress

Democrats

News

WASHINGTON—Daily Wire Senior Investigative Reporter Luke Rosiak is on Capitol Hill today to brief lawmakers on the massive Medicaid fraud he exposed with an explosive, multi-part investigation.
The House Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses is holding it first hearing, titled “Universal Basic Fraud: Vulnerabilities in Medicaid Waiver Programs.” Task Force Chairman Brandon Gill (R-Texas) said the task force is &#8220;going after institutions that stopped fearing accountability and abused the American people.&#8221;
<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=5&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" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recent reporting</a> by The Daily Wire uncovered how state oversight agencies failed to stop shell companies from allegedly operating out of empty offices that billed taxpayers for services that were never performed.
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WATCH ROSIAK&#8217;S OPENING TESTIMONY: 
<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=XNSXEdHLUAbUM00m9tFXimVJm01a3gW4AZ&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

WATCH: Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak Briefs Lawmakers On Medicaid Fraud

Brandon Gill

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’

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

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.

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

House Republicans

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

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.

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