Waste, Fraud & Abuse
Scammers exploit Trump’s $5,000 dividend pledge with fake text alerts
People say they're receiving texts from scam operators trying to exploit President Trump's $5,000 dividend pledge.
D.C. Council member Trayon White heads to trial in federal bribery case
D.C. Council member Trayon White's long-awaited federal bribery trial begins Monday, as the Ward 8 Democrat looks to prove his innocence and keep his seat he has held for the past decade.
Feds move to shut down Chinese cyberscam factory
The federal government has seized a Chinese-run online scammers' marketplace, blocked more than $50 million in laundered cryptocurrency, slapped sanctions on the operators and sent a strike force to Madagascar to help close 13 scam compounds.
Appeals court rules IRS broke privacy laws in turning over records to ICE
The IRS broke a Watergate-era privacy law when it gave information on 47,000 people to ICE for use in immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Ex-Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer contributed to ‘toxic’ work environment, says IG report
Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer ran a department where staff drank on duty, cried through public dressing-downs and were dispatched to organize her closet and pick up her dry cleaning, according to a new report from the Labor Department's Office of the Inspector General.
ICE whistleblower warned of ‘unprecedented lowering of standards’ during hiring spree
A supervisor overseeing background checks warned last year that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was hiring many new officers who had not undergone basic vetting, violating federal rules and putting the agency at risk of misconduct, a newly released whistleblower complaint shows.
Secret Service ignored drone incidents for years. Then came the Trump shooting
The Secret Service ignored dozens of security incidents, including repeated drone sightings near presidents and candidates, according to Congress' independent watchdog agency.
Democrats plot crackdown on Supreme Court
Democrats eyeing majorities in the House and Senate are plotting how they will police Supreme Court justices they say are influenced by right-wing, dark money groups.
Post office can’t handle Trump’s orders to police mail balloting, says whistleblower
The U.S. Postal Service's attempt to carry out President Trump's orders to control mail balloting in this year's election is "potentially catastrophic" and could block millions of people from casting their votes by mail, according to a new whistleblower report.
A dead teen’s Social Security number stayed active for 24 years and $284,000 in fraud
For 24 years, the man known to the world as Carlos Obregon would scam Social Security, Health and Human Services, the State Department, the Treasury Department and Idaho's Transportation Department, walking away with nearly $284,000 in taxpayers' money.
Kalshi bans ex-Rep. George Santos for life amid prediction market crackdown
Prediction market Kalshi is issuing its first lifetime ban, against former Rep. George Santos, over betting on his own attendance at President Trump's State of the Union address.
Workers in IRS buyout kept hundreds of government computers, smartphones
Some of the IRS employees who took last year's buyout added a little five-finger bonus to their departure, walking away with government laptops and smartphones they should have returned.
Democratic pols charged with COVID fraud in Massachusetts
A member of the Massachusetts legislature was arrested Wednesday on charges of pandemic fraud, with federal prosecutors saying he stole more than $700,000 in unemployment and small business money and used it to buy real estate and fund his campaign.
Former mail carrier in Georgia sentenced for stealing over $1 million in checks, gift cards
A federal judge in Georgia sentenced a former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier to two years in prison Tuesday for stealing checks and gift cards from the mail.
Secret Service officials placed on administrative leave over potential misconduct
Three U.S. Secret Service officials have been placed on administrative leave amid an ongoing investigation into potential misconduct, an agency spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Times.
Three Secret Service officials placed on administrative leave pending investigation
Three U.S. Secret Service officials were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, pending the outcome of an investigation by the agency's professional standards office.
FEMA broke federal law by skipping homes with Trump signs after hurricane
Federal emergency workers refused services to at least 11 homes after Hurricane Milton in Florida in 2024 because they had pro-Trump signs, violating the agency's nonpolitical guidelines, a watchdog said in a new report Tuesday.
Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction
A federal judge on Tuesday upheld Ghislaine Maxwell's convictions for child sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein, rejecting her "rambling" request to erase her record.
Chinese man accused of illegally voting in landlord’s name to ruin his immigration status
Federal prosecutors charged a Chinese man on Wednesday with a bizarre and dastardly plot to try to ruin his former landlord's immigration status by registering and casting a ballot in his name in Massachusetts, then reporting him to Homeland Security for it.
Fauci’s former chief of staff pleads guilty to hiding records to thwart COVID origins inquiries
Dr. David Morens, who spent years as chief of staff to Dr. Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty Tuesday to trying to hide critical documents about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic and his attempts to restore funding to a firm that was siphoning U.S. cash to a Chinese virus lab.
