In 2025, the federal government spent approximately $7 trillion, more than $4 trillion of which went toward benefit programs such as Medicaid/Medicare, housing assistance, and supplemental nutrition.  

With affordability a pressing concern among Americans, many people want to expand these programs. According to the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, many Americans believe current entitlement spending levels should continue or increase. 

In truth, however, paying for these plans puts immense and often counterproductive strain on taxpayers, who are funding a staggering amount of fraud in their attempts to provide relief for the truly needy. Although the exact numbers are impossible to ascertain, improper payments (including fraud and non-deliberate mismanagement) totaled an estimated $186 billion in 2025, according to 15 government agencies cited by the Government Accountability Office. 

In response, President Trump issued an executive order on March 16 creating a task force to investigate fraud in the federal benefits system. Here are just a few of the results reported by the Justice Department (DOJ) after two months of task force operation:

  • On March 19, 11 individuals in California were arrested on 15 federal counts related to real estate loan fraud. In a convoluted scheme, the accused allegedly stole the identities of elderly victims, used those identities to obtain information about their property, and then attempted to claim the property as backing for fraudulent loans totaling $17.5 million. 
  • On April 3, a DOJ press release reported eight individuals in California, including multiple healthcare workers, were arrested for healthcare insurance fraud totaling $50 million. Among other crimes, the involved parties allegedly operated scam hospice facilities housing non-terminal patients, billing Medicare for hospice care. As Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, noted, “The Southern California region is a high-risk environment for hospice-related and many other forms of health care fraud.” The task force targeted numerous other alleged instances of such abuse in the region.
  • On April 7, the DOJ announced a California man, who already pleaded guilty to submitting almost $270 million in false claims to Medi-Cal, now faces further charges for wire fraud allegedly committed while on release from custody. The man allegedly committed crimes, including billing Medi-Cal for non-necessary prescription medication, which was not provided to the purported recipients. 
  • On May 13, two weeks after the Department of Education began enhanced assessments of student loan applications, it announced it already identified and blocked more than 300,000 fraudulent applications, adding up to $60 million in loan value. 
  • On May 20, the proprietor of a day care in Minnesota was charged with more than $4.6 million in day care and nutrition assistance fraud. The owner claimed to provide thousands of meals at her daycare center, assertions she is suspected of fabricating. The center was also cited in November for cleanliness and repair failures and for “not operating within the terms of its license.” Nevertheless, it continued to operate until January, when the investigation of citizen journalist Nick Shirley led to the owner closing it. Another local woman, who operated three daycare centers, was also charged with similar crimes.
  • On May 21, 15 individuals in Minnesota were charged with running a costly and dangerous healthcare fraud scheme involving Medicaid, totaling more than $90 million in planned theft overall. According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, “These alleged con artists stole taxpayer dollars while providing substandard care for children and abandoning at least one Medicaid recipient as they passed away.” 

Ending The Facade Of Kindness

Hardworking taxpayers are being defrauded on a massive scale. As Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith rightly said of these new anti-fraud efforts, “Fraud disrespects American taxpayers while stealing benefits from deserving Americans like seniors, needy families, and the unemployed.” 

Rooting out entitlement abuse should be a non-partisan, uncontroversial goal, and lawmakers who care about their constituents fully support these efforts.