Joe Sanberg, a top California Democrat activist who decried the corruption of big Wall Street banks and started a company marketed as the &#8220;cleaner&#8221; alternative, actually propped that company up through blatant fraud, he admitted Thursday.
Sanberg and other high-profile Democrats started the carbon-credit platform and online banking app Aspiration Partners Inc., promising to plant trees and not invest in polluting industries. Its motto was &#8220;clean rich is the new filthy rich.&#8221; It was once a star of the &#8220;environmental, social, and governance (ESG)&#8221; movement that blended corporate finance with leftist politics, and counted actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. as investors.
But it was instead a scheme as corrupt as any on Wall Street, with Sanberg concocting fake customers for his tree-planting services to try to dupe investors into a $2 billion valuation, the Department of Justice said. Sanberg faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aspiration-partners-co-founder-charged-and-agrees-plead-guilty-248m-scheme-defraud-investors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a>.
Sanberg is a key player in California politics, a Gavin Newsom donor who personally spent $11 million backing a ballot initiative to raise the state&#8217;s minimum wage to $18 an hour. Voters blocked the initiative by one percentage point in 2024. A 2019 <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/joe-sanberg-mulls-long-shot-presidential-campaign/586087/">Atlantic</a> story headlined, &#8220;Joe Sanberg Dares Trump to Call Him a Socialist,&#8221; said &#8220;the multimillionaire investor says the Democrats’ progressive agenda is best for jobs and economic growth.&#8221;
But “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,” according to Bill Essayli, the Acting U.S. Attorney of the Central District of California.
Aspiration was set up to have companies pay it for &#8220;carbon credits,&#8221; with Aspiration promising to pay third parties to plant trees in Africa that would offset their emissions. But the United States Postal Inspection Service said Sanberg &#8220;built a business on a lie to boost the company&#8217;s value and line his own pockets.&#8221;
The findings raise questions about the broader world of &#8220;carbon credits&#8221; and whether they amount to one big company paying another big company money in exchange for fantasy indulgences, based more on partisan marketing than any real-world impact.
Sanberg also faces civil <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2025/comp26382.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission charges</a> that say he propped up fake customers to bolster his appearance.
&#8220;To make it appear as though Aspiration’s business was rapidly growing, Sanberg recruited friends, associates, small businesses, and religious organizations and presented them to Aspiration as bona fide customers who were fully committed to paying large sums of money&#8221; for the tree-planting services,&#8221; the SEC charging documents explain.
In reality, they were not going to pay, and Sanberg himself funded initial payments purporting to be from the customers to make them look real.
&#8220;Through his fraud, Sanberg raised more than $300 million from investors who falsely believed Aspiration had a thriving environmental sustainability services business,&#8221; it says. Sanberg owned 30% of the company and took $100 million in loans backed by his shares.
Sanberg founded the company with Andrei Cherny, who worked for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, ran the Arizona Democratic Party, and ran for Congress in 2024. The SEC complaint said Sanberg texted Cherny in 2020 saying, &#8220;if you don’t get me the money tomorrow we are all f…ed. Get me the money. Your turn to figure it out like I have for so long. Wire it to the [Sanberg-entity] account. If you don’t then [the lender] will foreclose. This will give you a good taste of what I have to experience every day. I hate you and I hate this company and I don’t want to work anymore with you [ ]. You are so oblivious to what you’ve forced me to have to do.&#8221;
In 2021, Aspiration attempted to go public through a SPAC, giving prospective investors projections based on the fraud, the SEC said. The &#8220;greenwashing&#8221; firm touted that revenue was &#8220;up 584%&#8221; due in part to &#8220;Enterprise Sustainability Services.&#8221; That year, the company funneled $3.6 million to Sanberg, with Cherny signing a $475,000 contract, for example, &#8220;in exchange for Joseph Sanberg&#8217;s services related to Aspiration&#8217;s Sustainable Impact Services.&#8221;
Sanberg aligns himself publicly with unions, but privately, management sacked the company. In January 2022, the board gave him an $8 million cash bonus, &#8220;despite having low cash reserves.&#8221; That year, Aspiration had $104 million in revenue that didn&#8217;t actually exist, and its outside auditor resigned due to &#8220;characteristics of fraud.&#8221;
The effort to go public through a SPAC collapsed in 2023, but not before taking $300 million from investors, including former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
The investigation that began during the Biden administration after Sanberg and another investor, board member, and high-profile Democrat donor, Ibrahim Alhusseini, stiffed a lender. When the lender sued, documents unearthed in discovery showed that Alhusseini had gotten the loans based on fake financial statements.
<div id="attachment_854215" style="width: 1017px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-854215" class="size-large wp-image-854215" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1007x576.jpg" alt="Actress and activist Jane Fonda embraces Ibrahim AlHusseini at a Champions of our Planet's Future gala in 2016 in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)" width="1007" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1007x576.jpg 1007w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-300x172.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-768x439.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-517390558-2048x1172.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px" />Actress and activist Jane Fonda embraces Ibrahim AlHusseini at a Champions of Our Planet&#8217;s Future gala in 2016 in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)</div>
That matter was referred to the FBI, which said that AlHusseini sent investors falsified bank statements that made it seem like he had assets “worth between approximately $80 million to $200 million&#8230;. In fact, AlHusseini’s brokerage account during this period held between approximately $2,000 and $15,000.&#8221; The fake bank statements had a telltale sign of all ending in dollar amounts with 43 cents.
The Daily Wire exclusively reported that AlHusseini, who is from Saudi Arabia and was a board member for the far-left, anti-Israel group CodePink, was arrested last October and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-green-investor-climate-change-activist-charged-with-securities-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held in jail</a> until December, when wealthy Democrat environmentalists, including CodePink founder Jodie Evans, put up their homes as $3 million bail.
Prosecutors said AlHusseini was a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/career-doj-prosecutor-dismissed-fraud-case-against-dem-megadonor-hours-before-trump-took-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flight risk</a> as he transferred $300 million to Saudi Arabia, and put his Venice mansion in his brother&#8217;s name. A New York civil court found him in contempt of court for avoiding paying the lender he stiffed, while—as the lender told the judge—he “donated at least US $22,100.00 to United States political candidates” such as Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and spent $16,000 at the Four Seasons hotel in Greece and $10,000 on Gucci clothes in New York.
Alhusseini turned on Sanberg, who was himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-politico-and-anti-poverty-activist-arrested-for-alleged-green-finance-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in March, The Daily Wire reported.
Sanberg was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190328043932/https://www.ozy.com/politics-and-power/is-this-blue-apron-investor-aiming-for-the-white-house-on-a-poverty-platform/90556">reportedly considering</a> a Democratic presidential run ahead of the 2020 election, traveling to meet with party activists in early primary states. He was a fierce defender of California&#8217;s Newsom during the 2021 attempt to recall the governor.

Joe Sanberg

California ‘Anti-Poverty Activist’ And Dem Mega-Donor Pleads Guilty To Massive Carbon-Credit Scam

California

Environment

Fraud

President Donald Trump called for a top official at the Federal Reserve to step down after she was accused by federal officials of mortgage fraud. 
Trump said Wednesday that Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, should step down after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte called for the Justice Department to investigate her over alleged mortgage fraud. 
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115061104213677946">wrote</a> on Truth Social.  
In an August 15 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Pulte said that Cook falsely claimed primary residency at the same time for two homes she owned in Michigan and Georgia in order to get better interest rates. 
Pulte wrote in his letter that Cook “has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute. This has included falsifying residence statuses for an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based residence and an Atlanta, Georgia-based property in order to potentially secure lower interest rates and more favorable loan terms.”
In follow-up posts on X, Pulte targeted Cook over the allegations. 
“How can this woman be in charge of interest rates if she is allegedly lying to help her own interest rates?” he <a href="https://x.com/pulte/status/1958162017468154310">wrote</a>, <a href="https://x.com/pulte/status/1958158594374873358">adding</a> in another, “Do not declare two principal residences in President Trump’s America. Mortgage fraud is a serious crime and must be prosecuted as such.”
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) <a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott/status/1958140416835940434">responded</a> to the criminal referral by demanding that an independent inspector general be established to investigate the Fed. 
“The lack of accountability at the Federal Reserve under Chair Powell is out of control!” Scott posted on X. “This is exactly why we need to pass my bill to establish an independent inspector general at the Fed ASAP.”
When reached for comment by The Daily Wire, a media relations assistant for the Federal Reserve said that “we don’t have anything to share at the moment, but will be back in touch asap.”
Cook later released a statement on the calls for her to step down.
“I learned from the media that FHFA Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve. I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
Cook was appointed to the board of governors by President Joe Biden and is slated to stay on the board until 2038. She previously worked on the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama and at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Trump has repeatedly battled with the Fed over interest rates, demanding that Chair Jerome Powell lower rates. 
“Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can’t get a Mortgage because of him,” he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115057827631877948">posted</a> on Truth Social on Tuesday. “There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut.”
This story has been updated with comment from Cook.

US-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-SUMMIT-TRUMP

Trump Calls For Fed Official To Resign ‘Now’ After Mortage Fraud Allegations

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

Jerome Powell

Mortgages

Pam Bondi

The Justice Department subpoenaed Boston Children’s Hospital for alleged healthcare fraud related to sex-change surgeries for minors, <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/exclusive-boston-childrens-hospital-subpoenaed-by-doj-over-gender-transition-procedures-for-minors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Review</a> reported Monday.
The department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-subpoenas-doctors-and-clinics-involved-performing-transgender-medical?utm_source=semafor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> earlier this month that it was investigating hospitals “involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children” for “healthcare fraud, false statements, and more.”
“Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the memo.
In <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-children-from-chemical-and-surgical-mutilation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January, Trump</a> signed an executive order banning federal funding for sex-change surgeries for minors. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule change this month to implement the order. In May, CMS sent a letter to hospitals requesting “financial data for all pediatric sex trait modifications” that are “paid, in whole or in part, by the federal government.”
Some hospitals have <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/kaiser-permanente-to-pause-transgender-surgeries-for-teenagers-nationwide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused</a> programs or even <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/l-a-childrens-closes-trans-youth-center-under-pressure-from-trump-admin-joins-growing-list-of-closures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closed</a> their clinics offering gender transition interventions to minors following Trump’s executive orders.
However, according to whistleblowers — including adults who regret their sex-transition surgeries and surgeon Eithan Haim — others are finding ways of getting around the ban.
Whistleblower testimony claims that hospitals use deceptive billing codes to hide sex change surgeries for children while making insurance claims under federal programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The hospital didn’t address the specific allegations.
“Boston Children’s Hospital is committed to providing safe, evidence-based, and compassionate care to every patient and family we serve,” a Boston Children’s Hospital spokesman told National Review.
The hospital has a history of politically motivated healthcare.
While the hospital has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/boston-childrens-hospital-warns-employees-far-right-online-harassment-rcna43376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> performing sex-change surgeries on minors, an <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/7/1943" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine by faculty members claims that its Center for Gender Surgery is “the first pediatric center in the United States to offer gender-affirming chest surgeries for individuals over 15 years old and genital surgeries for those over 17 years of age.”
Last year, Boston Children’s faced backlash after halving its assessment time for children requesting life-altering transgender medical interventions. Laura Edwards-Leeper, who was the founding psychologist for the hospital’s gender clinic, the first of its kind in the United States, called the decision “<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14035429/boston-children-hospital-doctor-fury-transgender-surgery.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crazy</a>.”
Boston Children’s is one of three hospitals currently being <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-launches-probes-against-3-childrens-hospitals-genital-mutilation-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> by the FBI for potential violation of a federal statute that condemns female genital mutilation.
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to 20 medical establishments in total. While it did not reveal the names of the establishments in its memo, the <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2025/07/18/childrens-hospital-colorado-subpoena-gender-affirming-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Children’s Hospital Colorado</a> has stated that it is also under investigation.

Attorney General Pam Bondi Testifies In Senate Hearing

Trump DOJ Subpoenas Boston Children’s Hospital For Alleged Youth Sex Change Fraud

Boston Children's Hospital

Medicare

Transgender

transgender surgery

Rally at the capitol to raise awareness of the human rights violations in Somalia

How Minneapolis Turned Into Somalia

COVID

Elections

Matt Walsh

Mayor

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Opinion

Somalia

The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/national-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-324-defendants-charged-connection-over-146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the results of its annual healthcare fraud “takedown” this week, in which they charged 324 defendants with $14.6 billion of medical fraud.
Defendants include 96 licensed medical professionals “in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States.”
“With more than $13 billion in fraud uncovered, this is the largest takedown for this initiative to date,” said FBI director Kash Patel. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiative</a> identified $2.75 billion in fraud in 2024 and $2.5 billion in 2023.
“The government seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets,” the Justice Department stated.
In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “prevented over $4 billion from being paid in response to false and fraudulent claims and that it suspended or revoked the billing privileges of 205 providers in the months leading up to the Takedown.” Civil charges and settlements amount to another $48.5 million.
The busted fraud schemes involve identity theft, fraudulent wound care, prescription opioid trafficking, and fake telemedicine claims.
One transnational criminal organization alone was responsible for $10.6 billion of the $14.6 billion in total fraud identified.
A network of foreign individuals “strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies located across the United States,” then used the stolen identities of over a million Americans to submit fraudulent Medicare claims for “urinary catheters and other durable medical equipment.”
In another case, foreign individuals relied on artificial intelligence to carry out identity theft.
“The defendants allegedly used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of Medicare beneficiaries purportedly consenting to receive certain products,” the Justice Department says. The recordings were then “sold to laboratories and durable medical equipment companies, which used this unlawfully obtained and fraudulently generated data to submit false claims to Medicare.”
So far, the government has recovered $44.7 million of the $418 million paid on these claims.
Other defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for unnecessary amniotic wound grafts, targeting elderly patients and receiving “millions in illegal kickbacks from the fraudulent billing scheme.”
Agency and department heads affirmed their commitment to rooting out health care fraud schemes, emphasizing how they harm patients and Americans.
The schemes “often result in physical patient harm through medically unnecessary treatments or failure to provide the correct treatments,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, adding that medical fraudsters steal “ money hardworking Americans contribute to pay for the care of their elders and other vulnerable citizens.”
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“Make no mistake — this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”

President Trump Swears In Steve Witkoff As Special Envoy

Trump Justice Department Exposes $14 Billion In Medicare and Medicaid Fraud

Medicaid

A <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-greater-obamacare-enrollment-fraud/">new report</a> from an institute whose president coordinated the development of health policies during President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term says millions of people are fraudulently obtaining health insurance subsidized by the federal government.
The Paragon Health Institute is a think-tank whose president, Brian Blase, is determined to root out corruption in the federal healthcare plan. “We don’t just write white papers,” he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/20/conservative-policy-shop-helping-shape-gop-priorities/">stated</a> last December. “We focus on trying to make change.”
“The Biden administration’s attempts to make it easier for people to sign up for insurance through the federal marketplace website also allowed insurance brokers to commit fraud, experts across the political spectrum agree,” The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/06/17/affordable-care-act-obamacare-fraud/">noted</a>, adding, “The report estimates that the income of more than a quarter of the 24 million marketplace enrollees this year was misrepresented, often by brokers, so that the plan would be fully subsidized.”
“We have found that this improper enrollment and fraud surged over the past year—rising by more than one-quarter to now total nearly 6.4 million ineligible recipients,” the report, titled, “The Greater Obamacare Enrollment Fraud: The Fraud Got Much Worse in 2025,” states. “The Biden administration took a host of administrative actions that prioritized higher enrollment numbers over eligibility verification, allowing fraud to grow unchecked.”
The report explains:
<blockquote>
Exchange enrollment fraud is driven by a combination of four factors: (1) the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, enacted as a temporary pandemic-era policy, which fully subsidize plans for people who report income between 100 and 150 percent of the FPL; (2) Biden administration policies that prioritized enrollment over eligibility verification and program integrity; (3) limits on how much the federal government can recover if insurers receive excess advance subsidies because of improper eligibility determinations; and (4) automatic re-enrollment, which perpetuates improper enrollments year after year.
&#8230; the perverse incentives of the system have attracted unscrupulous brokers. These brokers understand how to game Obamacare. They are driving fraudulent enrollments by exploiting the enhanced direct enrollment feature of HealthCare.gov, which allows third parties to enroll consumers without their direct interaction with the exchange.
</blockquote>
In <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/the-great-obamacare-enrollment-fraud/">The Great Obamacare Enrollment Fraud</a>, the precursor to the current report, the institute made six recommendations to deal with the fraud it found:
<ol>
<li>Congress should permit the enhanced subsidies to expire after 2025.</li>
<li>Congress should raise subsidy recapture limits to reduce incentives for people to misestimate their income.</li>
<li>Congress or the next administration should limit automatic re-enrollment into exchange plans and end it for people moving from or into fully taxpayer-subsidized plans.</li>
<li>Congress should appropriate cost-sharing reduction payments and prohibit silver-loading.</li>
<li>Congress should conduct aggressive oversight of the Biden administration’s management of HealthCare.gov, enhanced direct enrollment, and insurer and broker actions to take advantage of misestimating income.</li>
<li>Congress or the next administration should reverse policies of the Biden administration that enabled such widespread fraudulent enrollment, particularly the continuous open-enrollment period for people who report income below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.</li>
</ol>
The current report staunchly supports President Trump’s budget bill, stating, “If the provisions of The One Big Beautiful Bill become law, five of Paragon’s six recommendations from The Great Obamacare Enrollment Fraud would be implemented. &#8230; The remaining reform, and the most important, is for Congress to permit the enhanced subsidies to expire after 2025.”

Person Holding and Counting US Dollar Bills

Millions Of Americans Illegally Getting Subsidized Obamacare: Report

Budget Bill

Obamacare

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albany, New York, have reportedly begun a formal criminal investigation into the real estate and mortgage transactions of New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James.
Last month, William J. Pulte, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that James might have “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms.” He said James had “potentially included … falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and … misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.” He pointed out, “Primary residence mortgages receive more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates, than secondary residence mortgages.”
Two weeks ago, James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, wrote a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25913822-nyag-james-letter-to-ag-bondi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Bondi, stating, “I write to address the latest act of improper political retribution—this time directed at Ms. James—publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump&#8230;. This so-called ‘Criminal Referral,’ which recycles long-disproven allegations and is ‘[b]ased on media reports’ lacks any credible foundation.”
“Mr. Trump has singled out Attorney General James dating back to her campaign in 2018, and ever more so during and after the trial and verdict in New York in which Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization were found liable for financial fraud and assessed a $454 million judgment,” Lowell claimed.
Lowell referred to what he called “baseless allegations,” saying:
<blockquote>
Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that “[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence[.] It will be Shamice’s primary residence.”  
</blockquote>
In 1983, James, then a recent college graduate, bought a Queens residence with her father, with some documents listing her as his “wife.’
“He asked his daughter (then a few years out of school) to help by allowing him to add her name to the mortgage application,” Lowell argued. “Mr. James filled out the mortgage material (wherein he described their relationship as being ‘spouses’) and purchased the home without his daughter’s involvement.”
“However, James, then 24 and a college graduate, signed the notarized mortgage, along with her father, on one of the document’s three pages that listed her as his ‘wife,’” the Times-Union <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/fbi-opens-formal-investigation-ny-attorney-20316868.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “One of those references to her being her father’s ‘wife’ was just below her signature. Lending experts consulted by the Times Union said that by listing themselves as husband and wife, the pair may have qualified for a loan — or received better borrowing terms — than had they not been considered a couple due to income requirements.”
James led a prosecutorial effort to investigate Trump’s business dealings, which ended with a judge ordering him, his two sons, and a Trump company official to pay more than $360 million.

NY Attorney Gen. James Holds News Conference Before Hearing On Case To Protect Citizens From Musk’s DOGE Accessing Private Data

FBI Officially Launches Probe Into New York’s Letitia James

Crime

Investigation

Letitia James

New York

Politics

Real estate

Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who was expelled from Congress last year after extensive fraud revelations, received a hefty 87-month prison term on Friday.
Santos, 36, pleaded guilty last year to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft while also admitting he “filed fraudulent FEC reports, embezzled funds from campaign donors, charged credit cards without authorization, stole identities, obtained unemployment benefits through fraud, and lied in reports to the House of Representatives,” per a Department of Justice press <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-congressman-george-santos-pleads-guilty-fraud-and-identity-theft#:~:text=In%20pleading%20guilty%2C%20Santos%2C%2036,to%20the%20House%20of%20Representatives">release</a>.
As U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert handed down the sentencing, Santos could be seen putting his hands over his head in apparent disbelief, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/former-congressman-george-santos-sentenced-to-seven-years-for-fraud-90d88f55">reported</a>.
Despite Santos saying in a Monday <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/852698897/Letter-From-George-Santos">letter</a> to the presiding judge that he &#8220;accepted full responsibility&#8221; for his crimes and was &#8220;profoundly sorry&#8221; for his actions, John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York under President Donald Trump&#8217;s DOJ, had pushed for an 87-month sentence, characterizing Santos as “unrepentant,” and “blamed his circumstances on misplaced trust in others,” per The Wall Street Journal.
Judge Seybert reportedly concurred with this sentiment, saying at the sentencing, &#8220;Where’s the remorse? Where do I see it?&#8221;
After his expulsion from Congress, Santos attempted to monetize his notoriety, likely in an attempt to pay the $375,000 in restitution, through personalized videos on Cameo and launching a podcast aptly titled &#8220;Pants on Fire&#8221; – a possible reference to his numerous falsehoods about his education, work history, and personal background, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/nyregion/george-santos-sentencing-prison.html">according</a> to The New York Times.
Santos was making &#8220;twice his congressional salary&#8221; through the personalized video platform, according to The Times, with the former congressman pushing a &#8220;last week on Cameo&#8221; promotion in a last-ditch effort to raise money before his sentencing.
Durham <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nyed.497086/gov.uscourts.nyed.497086.118.0.pdf">argued</a> in a supplemental court memo that Santos&#8217; recent social media posts claiming he is a “<a href="https://x.com/MrSantosNY/status/1909311390160240990">scapegoat</a>” and a victim of DOJ overreach and selective prosecution &#8220;suggested he had little remorse for his actions.&#8221;
“His actions speak louder than any words, and they cry out for a significant carceral sentence in this case,” the U.S. attorney said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hi my name is George Santos and the DOJ has had a hard on for me since December of 2022.
I refuse to let them break me or my spirit and that makes them big Mad… they have used elaborate language to drag me and hinder my ability to earn income…
Long story short, I will NOT…
&mdash; Pants On Fire with George Santos (@MrSantosNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrSantosNY/status/1908567430403596655?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Santos&#8217; dramatic fall began shortly after his 2022 election victory when it was <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-york-congressman-elect-santos-admits-to-lying-about-employment-history-and-college-education?utm_source=chatgpt.com">revealed</a> that he had fabricated much of his background, such as graduating from Baruch College, working for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and even playing collegiate volleyball.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,&#8221; Santos admitted in 2023, adding, “I own up to that. … We do stupid things in life.”
Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives after fellow Republicans led the charge following a bipartisan House Ethics Committee report, which found that he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors. Some funds were <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/onlyfans-botox-george-santos-ethics-report-b2457313.html">reportedly</a> spent on luxury goods, OnlyFans, and Botox.
His attorneys had requested the minimum 24-month sentence, arguing that his actions &#8220;stemmed largely from a misguided desperation related to his political campaign, rather than inherent malice,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/05/nyregion/george-santos-sentencing-prison.html">according</a> to The New York Times, with the judge ultimately accepting the prosecution&#8217;s recommended sentence.

Former Representative George Santos Faces Sentencing For Fraud

Disgraced Ex-Congressman George Santos Sentenced To More Than 7 Years In Prison

Corruption

Courts

George Santos

U.S. House of Representatives

Three Democratic-led states accounted for the vast majority of unemployment fraud since 2020, according to an initial survey of such fraud by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
California, New York, and Massachusetts tallied nearly 80% of improper unemployment insurance benefits handed out since 2020. An initial review of claims by DOGE found $382 million in fraudulent payments.
The DOGE audit found that “24.5k people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits,” “28k people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits,” and “9.7k people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.”
“In one case, someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k,” DOGE added in a post on X.
Of those flagged claims, California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for over $300 million.
“California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits,” said DOGE. “Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal records.”
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California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits.
Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal… <a href="https://t.co/6jYGfxW7Fr">https://t.co/6jYGfxW7Fr</a>
&mdash; Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE/status/1910449939487895905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the revelation is an example of the kind of governance that pushed people to move from deep blue states such as California and New York to Republican-led states such as Texas and Florida.
“There’s a reason for the mass exodus from Democrat-run states that have mismanaged their economies and driven residents to the nearest Republican-led state,” Fields told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-states-blame-most-nearly-400-million-unemployment-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. “High taxes, poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars and progressive policies continue to yield negative results, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support the work of DOGE.”
California, New York, and Massachusetts are under solid Democratic control. Democrats control the governor’s office, the state House, and the Senate in each state, while also having the offices of secretary of state and attorney general as well.
DOGE is spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. DOGE analysts have been working with government departments to identify potential wasteful spending and spending that does not align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced $5.1 billion in cuts to Pentagon spending on Thursday that were identified by DOGE.
“This one is, as they say, a big one,” said Hegseth in a <a href="https://x.com/SecDef/status/1910462447795716557" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> posted to social media. “We’re signing a memo right now directing the termination of $5.1 billion in DOD contracts – not million, that’s with a B – $5.1 billion in DOD contracts.”

DC Department of Employment Services

DOGE Review Finds Three Dem States Account For Most Unemployment Fraud Since 2020

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Economy

U.S.

Unemployment

Millions of dollars in federal unemployment benefits have been paid out to people who haven&#8217;t even been born yet, according to the most recent findings from the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer shared some of the data during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, saying that in partnership with DOGE, the Department of Labor had uncovered fraudulent unemployment insurance payments — that totaled hundreds of millions of dollars — going to to several groups of people who were by definition unqualified to receive them.
WATCH:
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🚨HOLY FRAUD🚨
&quot;We have almost 25,000 who are over 115 years-old who are collecting $59 million that we have sent out…
…28,000 people between 1 and 5 years-old have collected fraudulent payments at the tune of $254 million…
…10,000 who have not been born yet, 15 years into… <a href="https://t.co/XupNNCVw9s">pic.twitter.com/XupNNCVw9s</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1910384943030554768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Unemployment insurance fraud — that trust needs to be whole for the American people,&#8221; DeRemer said. &#8220;When we need it, we need it for who deserves it. That&#8217;s not what we&#8217;re seeing in the numbers we saw last night, again, exposed by our partners at DOGE at the Department of Labor.&#8221;
&#8220;Since 2020, over $400 million of payments have gone out already,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And when you hear these numbers — apparently in the United States we have over — almost 25,000 who are over 115 years-old who are collecting $59 million that we have sent out to people. Talk about fraudulent behavior.&#8221;
&#8220;Mr. President, 28,000 people between 1 and 5 years old have collected fraudulent payments at the tune of $254 million has gone out,&#8221; she added. &#8220;And lastly, 10,000 who have not been born yet, 15 years into the future, $69 million, and they haven&#8217;t even been born yet.&#8221;
&#8220;In one case, they will be born 129 years from now. The United States sent them $41,000,&#8221; DeRemer said. &#8220;And they&#8217;re not born yet. So, under the Department of Labor, those are the things that we&#8217;re uncovering. I couldn&#8217;t be more honored to tell the American people that we&#8217;re bringing back their dollars and were saving them — returning them to the United States Treasury.&#8221;
DOGE has also recently uncovered the fact that millions of non-citizens were given <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-the-staggering-number-of-illegals-who-got-social-security-numbers-under-joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Security Numbers</a> during President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration — and that a number of them had registered to vote and had voted in American elections.

Chavez-DeRemer Labor Hearing in Washington

People Who Haven’t Been Born Yet Collected Millions In Federal Unemployment: DOGE

People Who Haven't Been Born Yet Collected Millions In Federal Unemployment: DOGE

Elon Musk, the world&#8217;s most successful businessman and President Donald Trump&#8217;s top White House adviser, said this week that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has uncovered shocking cases of fraud within the federal government.
Musk made the remarks during a Monday meeting with the president and his cabinet secretaries.
&#8220;One case of fraud was with the Small Business Administration, where they were handing out loans—$330 million worth of loans—to people under the age of 11,&#8221; Musk said. &#8220;I think the youngest, Kelly, was a 9-month-old who got a $100,000 loan.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s a very precocious baby we’re talking about here,&#8221; Musk quipped.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler followed up Musk&#8217;s remarks by saying, &#8220;We&#8217;re tackling the fraud, waste, and abuse at the agency.&#8221;
&#8220;We’ve seen, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud go unprosecuted, so we’re taking that on,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We have a zero-tolerance policy for fraud, and we continue to crack down on it and make sure people are held accountable.&#8221;
Trump said that they have found &#8220;far too much&#8221; fraud, waste, and abuse in the government over the last couple of months.
&#8220;It’s pure fraud,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We like to use the words &#8216;waste&#8217; and &#8216;abuse&#8217; because they sort of sound good, but many of these things are pure fraud.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Elon Musk at The White House cabinet meeting: “A clear case of fraud was with the SBA, they were handing out $330 million worth of loans to people under the age of 11.. The youngest was a 9 month-old, who got a $100,000 loan… That&#39;s a very precocious baby” <a href="https://t.co/dAt4WWQ3iL">pic.twitter.com/dAt4WWQ3iL</a>
&mdash; America (@america) <a href="https://twitter.com/america/status/1904226469762461840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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US-POLITICS-TRUMP-CABINET

Musk Reveals Shocking Cases Of Fraud Found At Small Business Administration

Elon Musk

Small Business Administration

Trump Administration

The husband of former far-left Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) was hit with federal charges this week alleging that he committed wire fraud related to the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.
Cortney Merritts, 46, faces two counts of wire fraud for allegedly filing bogus applications in 2020 and 2021 with the United States Small Business Administration.
The indictment alleges that he obtained nearly $21,000 from the programs for his own benefit and enjoyment by lying on the applications about a company that he owned, including how many employees he had and the amount of revenue the company generated.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/20/cori-bush-busband-indicted-covid-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that while the indictment was signed by United States Attorney Ed Martin, President Donald Trump&#8217;s nominee to serve as permanent top prosecutor in D.C., the investigation was launched during the Biden administration.
Federal prosecutors ordered that he immediately forfeit to the United States any property connected to the alleged crime.
Merritts&#8217; attorney Justin Gelfand responded to the allegations: “We look forward to litigating this case in the courtroom.”
Bush was under federal criminal investigation last year over allegations that she misspent funds meant for personal security when she paid Merritts tens of thousands of campaign dollars to be her security guard.
The current status of the investigation is not known. No charges have been filed and she has not been formally accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
Bush represented her St. Louis-area district since 2021 after she toppled Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) in the 2020 primary, and over the years, she has faced scrutiny over payments for private security despite her calls to defund the police.
Her campaign has spent more than $750,000 on security services since 2019, according to federal election data. The congresswoman has previously said she was doling out money for protection because of attempts on her life.
She lost her seat in 2024 when she lost her primary to then-St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, a more moderate Democrat.

Press conference on urging Biden to sign ERA before the end of his term

Cori Bush’s Husband Indicted On Federal Charges

Congress

Cori Bush

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