Showing posts with label texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label texas. Show all posts

Monday, July 20, 2026

Government Taxpayer Fraud and Corruption, Part 12 - Double Scamming In Texas, More Minnesota Fraud, and Senate Democrats Could Not Care Less About Fraud

 We are going to  spend a lot of discussion time in the coming posts to review the massive amount of criminal fraud that has infected government programs for many, many years.  The outstanding investigations recently done,  and still being  done, by independent journalist,  Nick Shirley, has started a cascading identification of the numerous fraud instances at all  levels of government  across the country.

It is unbelievable how many billions of dollars have been wasted and are currently being wasted and siphoned off by all types of criminal activities. And while it is amazing how much taxpayer wealth has been wasted and lost, possibly even more amazing is the reality that through the decades the political class and the government entities they overlook were unable or unwilling to stop the fraud.


1)While Medicare and Medicaid fraud seem to have dominated our past 11 fraud  discussions,  the whole Covid disaster also has had its share of corruption and fraud:


  • Said Abdullahi Ereg is a former Minneapolis grocery and deli owner.

  • He was recently found and arrested by the FBI  and he  also had  the  distinction of being on the FBI's "Most Wanted  Fraudsters” list.

  • He allegedly scammed over $4.2  million during the Covid  corruption era, money that was supposed to be spent feeding needy kids in Minneapolis.

  • He was one of 15 people arrested in  other scams  which  allegedly skimmed over $90 million from the American taxpayer.

  • Ereg unrealistically claimed  that he had served  over 1.4 million meals  to needy kids.

  • He took some of his fraud  money and sent it out of  the country  to  foreign  accounts  besides living a very lavish  lifestyle, courtesy of our tax dollars.

  • He was charged with conspiracy to commit  wire fraud, wire  fraud, and money laundering.


Just another example of how Governor Tim Walz’s administration was either  totally asleep, totally inept, or complicit and profiting from the  massive fraud that was underway right under his nose. Numerous whistleblowers  told him  what was going  on, that millions upon millions of dollars were being stolen,  and he still did nothing to stop  it. Disgusting governance.


2)The following  act of taxpayer larceny apparently took place in Texas,  the first time we have discussed government fraud in that state:


  • A Texas  woman was recently arrested for trying to scam two totally independent government programs.

  • Joyce Turner of Rosharon,, Texas, was sentenced to 21 months in jail.

  • She  falsely obtained $28,000 from  the 2025 California fire disaster relief program by falsely claiming she lived in Pasadena, California that was damaged by the wildfire and also from scamming the  Covid relief  fund programs  of $54,000 in jobless benefits.

  • Besides the 21 months in  jail  she also has to pay back the $82,555 taxpayer dollars she stole.

  • She pleaded guilty to one count of  major  disaster  of  emergency benefits  fraud and one count of mail fraud.


You have to give her credit for her initiative, scamming not one but two major government  programs, and her originality. Fortunately,  she got caught and she's paying  the prison  time and financial price.


3)This is the twelfth  post we have done on how criminals are exploiting  the weak controls and guardrails on almost every government program in existence. Billions and billions of taxpayer dollars are being stolen every year. Dollars that could go  back to the hard working taxpayers who paid their taxes  or be used for the millions of Americans who are hungry, homeless, and need medical care.


As a result of this massive corruption culture, one would hope  that every politician  everywhere is laser focused on  cleaning up  the  government programs that are stealing taxpayer wealth. But as always, with  American politicians, hoping for  a laser focus on doing the right thing is usually  futile:


  • A recent Senate hearing was conducted  to discuss  and hopefully remedy the massive fraud in Federal government programs.

  • One  would hope that every Senator involved, regardless of political party, would attend and learn  from the  witnesses  that testified.

  • And then that  learning could be used  to  pass legislation  or changes to government programs to stop the massive fraud.

  • Unfortunately, EVERY Democrat on the committee did not show up at the hearing.

  • Let me say that again:  every Democrat did NOT show up to hear what fraud was going on today.

  • Journalist Nick Shirley testified:  “Fraud is so rampant in the United States that I could go to all 50 states and uncover millions of tax dollars being defrauded, wasted and abused,” 

  • He called on Congress to finally “take action and help Americans by taking massive action to protect our tax dollars and end the fraud and to always put Americans first.”

  • He went on: “People wonder how fraud became so rampant in the United States. It is because no one ever looked before. California’s Medicaid program has doubled from $108 billion to $222 billion while enrollment rose by less than 1%. The system is filled with fraudsters. California is functionally bankrupt. In NYC,  government-funded adult daycares pay for elderly Koreans  and Chinese to play ping pong and do tai chi. An impossible number of patients are registered, and those patients receive kickbacks for attending and signing up friends.”

  • He went on to testify that fraud is not  just financial fraud, it is also electoral fraud: “In California a dog was able to vote in 2 elections and was only caught when the owner turned herself in to prove a point. It’s been proven through the work of others that the homeless were being paid to vote in California. How can we allow this?” 

  • Journalist James O’Keefe  added his research and insights:  “The question before this Committee is not whether this fraud exists.The question is why the incentives allow it to flourish. There is money in fraud. There is no money in exposing the fraud.”

  • Senator Rand Paul added his insights:  “7,000 patients at one adult daycare is billing $12 million. This is just one location engaging in massive fraud. Imagine how many others are out there and how much of your hard-earned money is being set on fire because of fraudsters.” 


I  don't know what is more amazing  and unbelievable: the constant defrauding of  the American  taxpayer of billions and billions of dollars every year or the  fact that Senate Democrats didn't even show up at important fraud  hearings to educate themselves  on what could be done  to prevent  the fraud.  Disgusting political priorities of the Democrats, both in the  Senate relative to this hearing or the fact that Democrats in Minnesota and California have actively resisted and prevented fraud from  being investigated and prosecuted.


The fraud train just keeps on rolling: Democrats in the Senate did not  even bother  to attend a single  committee meeting  focused on the wasting our taxpayer dollars, a  woman in  Texas defrauds  two different government programs at the same  time, and more fraud in the kingdom of government fraudsters, Minnesota.


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If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:


https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom



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Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:


Saturday, June 6, 2026

The Race To Bankruptcy Court: New Jersey Also Coming On Strong

Let’s take a brief break from our run of posts regarding the massive corruption and fraud in government programs and return to one of the hottest topics we have been covering over the past few years, coverage that has intensified recently: which major city or state government will get to bankruptcy court first? Our primary cities in the race to bankruptcy include New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and newcomer, Seattle. The state governments that we think are soon heading into bankruptcy include New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California with Washington state a newcomer to the race.

The reason for returning to this topic in the midst of our corruption series is because there have been some significant developments in the race to bankruptcy court. However, before reviewing the latest news and seeing which state or city is making the best progress towards government bankruptcy, let’s review how these cities and states got themselves into this financial death spiral position to begin with:

  • A government entity keeps expanding its budget, eventually putting pressure on the tax revenue stream it receives.
  • At some point, rather than cut government spending or make its programs more efficient financially, the politicians in charge raise taxes to meet the ever growing government expenditures.
  • The raising of taxes causes some residents and businesses to leave the city or state for less tax burdensome areas, reducing the tax base and reducing the revenue stream.
  • Rather than cut expenses and become more efficient to match the reduced tax revenue stream, politicians in the above cities or states raise the tax burden even more.
  • This causes more residents and businesses to flee the city or state, further reducing the tax base and tax revenue stream.
  • At some point politicians panic and raise taxes more and start cutting vital government services (e.g. police, fire, education) in order to try and balance government spending against the shrinking tax base and revenue stream.
  • The reduction in quality of government services in particular and quality of life in general drives more residents and businesses out of the area.
  • Eventually, the expenses, costs and financial liabilities outstrip the reduced tax stream and bankruptcy occurs.
Okay that’s the process, now lets check the progress some of the above listed government entities are making to achieve this bankruptcy goal against this process:

1)Our previous post discussed the great progress Seattle and its mayor are making in the race to bankruptcy court. And while Seattle has entered its own financial death spiral, New Jersey politicians have not been sitting idly by as they also have been driving companies and tax base out of their state:
  • Samsung Electronics recently announced that it is moving a significant portion of its instate employee base out of New Jersey and moving to state income tax free Texas.
  • The move would take about 1,000 company workers out of New Jersey.
  • Samsung had been operating in the state since the 1980s.
  • According to a company release: “Samsung Electronics America Inc. is undergoing a business transformation designed to better position our organization for long-term growth and future success. As part of this effort, we are relocating our US headquarters from New Jersey to our existing campus in Plano, Texas, building on our 30-year presence in the state.”
  • This out migration comes less than a year after the company opened up a new headquarters campus in New Jersey.
  • The New Jersey Business & Industry Association issued a statement that reinforced the perception that New Jersey is not an easy operating climate for businesses, urging the state political class to ease regulations, cut red tape, and make the state more attractive to businesses.
  • Statements from the company were typical business nonsense, talking about realigning priorities, focusing resources in one location, etc.
Not mentioned in the company releases was the reality that New Jersey has some of the highest personal and business taxes in the country, a tax burden that eventually wears out people and companies, forcing them to find better financial conditions in states like Texas.

2)But Samsung is not the only major company moving business resources, employees, and tax revenue out New Jersey:

  • Budweiser recently announced that it is closing down one of its major historic breweries in Newark, New Jersey.
  • While Samsung had a very short major presence in the state, the Newark brewery was a fixture in Newark and New Jersey for 75 years.
  • The company also announced that it was selling the brewery property to a commercial real estate company that will likely convert the property to a warehouse facility.
  • The brewery had operated through wars, recessions, inflationary periods, the pandemic, hurricanes, and other man made and natural disasters.
  • But apparently it could not withstand the unfriendly and high tax environment of New Jersey.
  • 475 brewery employees either have to relocate to another out of state Budweiser brewery or look for other employment.
But none of this should be surprising since New Jersey:
  • Has the highest corporate tax rate in the country at 11.5%.
  • Has a 2.5% surcharge tax on the largest state employers.
  • Has the highest tax burden in the region as a percentage of personal income.
  • Has the second highest top personal income tax rate in the country.
  • Has one of the highest unemployment insurance tax rates in the country.
  • Has the worst business competitiveness rating in the region according to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
Tax and tax and tax and eventually people and businesses get smart and move to a better financial situation. And the situation is not expected to get better any time soon since the new governor has proposed a record-setting $60.7 billion budget for the state government even though her tax base is getting smaller by the day.

3)The website for radio station 101.5 recently did an excellent job in documenting how many jobs have been lost in the state since just the beginning of the year. Their review can be accessed at the following link:

https://nj1015.com/nj-job-losses-still-growing/

Some highlights of their reporting include the following:
  • More than 7,600 employees have been laid off since the beginning of the year.
  • These layoffs occurred in all sorts of businesses, including energy, retail, hotel, drug stores, and other business types.
  • ExxonMobil is leaving the state in order to reincorporate in Texas, ending a whopping 140 year presence in New Jersey.
  • ExxonMobil executives pointed out that Texas has no state income tax and lower business operating costs and regulations.
  • The number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state has dropped from 22 in 2018 to 15 in 2025.
  • Other companies that have already moved operations and employees or intend to do so out of New Jersey include Verizon, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Prudential, JP Morgan Merck, Optum, and Acme supermarkets.
  • As the article points out, not only do business and employee tax resources leave but economic vitality and growth, charitable donations, and future growth opportunities leave also.
  • One state politician, Heather Simmons, understands the problem: "We grow revenue by growing our economy, not by raising taxes. There is increasing consensus, from the Governor’s office and colleagues in the Legislature, that new revenue must come from economic growth, not from raising taxes."
  • A simple concept but one that eludes most politicians in cities and states in a financial death spiral.
Detailed company layoffs and downsizing actions are listed in the link listed above but taste of what is in that article includes the following:
  • Verizon - 1,319 layoffs in Basking Ridge.
  • Bristol Myers Squib - 1,156 layoffs in Lawrence
  • Rite Aid Drugstores - 1,122 layoffs around the state, 16 store locations closed.
Just a sample of what is going happening to the tax base in the state.

Yes, Seattle is coming on strong in the race to bankruptcy. California as a state probably still has the state led in the race to bankruptcy. But New Jersey is deep into its own financial death spiral so they are definitely still in the running.

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If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:


https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom



**********************


Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at: