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Grand Jury Indicts 15 in Minnesota Health Care Scheme
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FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday: Today – 15 individuals have been indicted for over $90 million in an alleged massive healthcare fraud scheme in Minnesota, after a sweeping FBI investigation with @TheJusticeDept and our Interagency Partners. These charges involve the two LARGEST Medicaid fraud cases ever charged in this district and first-of-their kind charges involving 7 additional Medicaid programs. As alleged, the defendants defrauded Minnesota public healthcare resources for tens of millions, targeting programs such as Housing Stabilization Services, Child Care, Medicaid programs, Individualized Home Supports (IHS), and more. In one case, defendants even developed a scheme worth over $40 million to target the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) – an autism healthcare program – paying kickbacks to parents who fraudulently used autism centers to diagnose children with autism regardless of medical necessity, and billing for services not actually provided ( Patel). Daily Signal: “It is a crisis in Minnesota,” claimed Collin McDonald, assistant attorney general for fraud enforcement, in a DOJ press conference. “A culture of fraud has taken root.”… McDonald pledged to continue the work of the DOJ until every fraudster in Minnesota is charged. He said, “This is not the end of the beginning of our work in Minnesota. This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota.” McDonald then addressed the fraudsters directly. He said, “We will not rest until every fraudster knows that the cost of stealing from the American people is far higher than any scheme is worth” ( Daily Signal).
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Minnesota Fraud Leader Sentenced to 41 Years in Prison
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Aimee Bock ran the Feeding Our Future program that bilked the government of $243 million—money that they claimed was feeding tens of thousands of children a day. Washington Times: “This is a vortex of fraud, and you were at the epicenter,” Judge Nancy Brasel told Bock at the sentencing, according to the Minnesota Star-Tribune. While Bock is White, most of those involved in the scam were connected to the Somali immigrant community. The scam drew attention to a larger universe of fraud in Minnesota, much of it also tied to the Somali community ( Washinton Times). Amy Curtis at Townhall: Just the other day, Bock spoke to Fox News and implicated high-ranking Minnesota Democrats, including Ilhan Omar, Tim Walz, and Attorney General Keith Ellison, saying they knew about the fraud and did nothing ( Townhall).
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Owner of Minneapolis ‘Quality Learing Center’ Charged With $4.6 Million in Fraud
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It will be interesting to see how much accountability the nation will get to see from all this blue state fraud before Election Day. Federal prosecutors charged the owner of Quality Learing Center with defrauding Michigan’s child care assistance program of $4.6 million through phantom enrollments and forged attendance records. Fox News: Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents…. Between October 2022 and December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims to CCAP totaling approximately $4.6 million. Prosecutors state the claims were fraudulent because she falsely certified that she had collected mandatory co-payments from families, which is a material requirement for federal reimbursement ( Fox News). David Strom: This isn’t incompetence. It’s not indifference. The State of Minnesota, as with many states, is part of an organized crime ring stealing tens of billions or more from taxpayers every year. How interested in the Pravda Media? Our local TV stations are finally picking it up, seeing ratings gold, although they have yet to point the finger at the governor and the Attorney General as part of the scam ( Hot Air).
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Iranian Leaders Coalesce Over One Issue: Control of Strait of Hormuz
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If they are allowed to do so, it would mark a territorial gain for them from the war. Institute for the Study of War: Iranian officials have coalesced around demands to formalize Iranian control over Strait of Hormuz transit, in contrast to their apparent division over the nuclear file. Iran’s demands over the Strait of Hormuz demonstrate that Iranian officials believe they won the war because formalizing Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz is a territorial claim on the sovereign territory of another country. Iran released a map of a Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)-defined maritime zone on May 20.[16] The PGSA’s new map appears to expand Iran’s claimed management zone beyond the area Iran previously depicted on May 4. The new PGSA-defined zone runs from Kuh Mobarak in Iran to southern Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the east and from the end of Gheshm Island in Iran to Umm al Qaiwain in the UAE in the west. This change lays explicit claim to control over the territorial waters of the UAE and Oman ( ISW).
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US Must Create Demilitarized Zone Along Strait of Hormuz
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That is, after we resume military action against the Iranian regime. Hugh Hewitt: The U.S. and its allies can and should recommence combat operations against the IRGC. The rump regime(s) in control of the IRGC or parts of it need to be shattered to an even greater level of destruction as they do not yet understand the depth of their defeat, or in fact relish martyrdom, which we should oblige. Their guns and missiles can be silenced. The sooner that President Donald Trump orders that done, the better. After major combat operations end again, they should be followed by a “no fire” zone extending back at least a hundred miles from the coast of the strait. That distance allows for sustainable defense against most if not all of Iran’s remaining arsenal. If firing continues, the allies shall have to insist on a “no movement” zone in the same area. The strait is of too much importance to the global economy and all nations to allow a pirate regime that cannot exercise command and control of its armed forces to be close to the shore ( Fox News).
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Democrats Reluctantly Release Autopsy on 2024 Campaign
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DNC Chair Ken Martin released it and said he hated it in one breath : I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards. I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it ( Blueprint). Ed Morrissey: Ahem. Isn’t this evidence of institutional failure itself? Martin has had eighteen months to pull this together, which should be plenty of time for this kind of analysis. Lest we forget, Reince Priebus not only conducted a similar autopsy for the RNC after the 2012 election, he published its results in ten months (August 2013), along with an action plan he actually implemented in time for the midterms in 2014. Martin had plenty of time and money, and now he wants to pretend that it’s not his fault that he couldn’t finish the report as Democrats get ready for the next election cycle. What about the report itself? People can directly access the 192-page report, but it’s not easy to parse, thanks to the lack of effort in finishing the product. It’s unfinished in another sense, too: there is apparently no mention of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline or the effort to cover it up in the autopsy. The words “cognitive,” “dementia,” “senile,” and “mental” make no appearance in this document. The June 2024 debate barely gets a mention at all, and the report completely ignores its impact and what it revealed about Democrats’ attempts to sell a sick old man as “Sharp As A Tack™” ( Hot Air). NBC: the autopsy itself has already caused strains within the party. Martin had been pummeled in public for months after he promised to release the report and then reversed course in December, saying he would not do so ( NBC).
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Trump’s $1.8 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund Facing Legal, Political Blowback
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The fund was created as part of the settlement with the IRS after an employee from the organization leaked Trump’s tax returns. Trump had sued for $10 billion. The Hill: The nearly $1.8 billion fund created by the Trump administration to compensate those who allege they were the victims of a weaponized Justice Department is facing its first legal challenge as well as criticism from some Republican lawmakers. Police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, have sued to block the creation of the “anti-weaponization” fund that would dole out money to victims ( The Hill). CBS: The “anti-weaponization” program is set to receive nearly $1.8 billion from the Judgment Fund, which was set up by Congress in 1956 to pay court judgments and settlements of lawsuits against the government. When the Judgment Fund was first created, it was limited to judgments for claims of up to $100,000, but in the mid-1970s, Congress removed the cap…. The fund drew swift condemnation from ethics groups and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government accountability group, said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s settlement with his administration amounted to the “most brazen act of self-dealing in the history of the presidency,” and argued it likely violated the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause ( CBS).
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Senate Republicans Delay Vote on Reconciliation Package Amidst Row Over Anti-Weaponization Fund
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Just the News: Senate Republicans on Thursday delayed a planned vote on a reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol until June amid an ongoing row over the Department of Justice’s creation of an “anti-weaponization fund.” The $1.8 billion fund was created as part of a settlement to end President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns by a government contractor. The fund will provide restitution to people who claim to have suffered political persecution under the Biden DOJ. The fund has earned scrutiny from Senate Republicans and its creation appears to have prompted reservations from the conference about advancing the funding package, NBC News reported. The delay also comes after Trump earned the ire of some Senate Republicans by endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas ( Just the News).
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Supreme Court Rules US Companies Can Sue Over Property Stolen By Cuba
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The decision was 8-1 with Kagan the sole dissent. The case ended up in the courts in the first place as a result of the fact that Trump refused to renew a provision in what has been referred to as the Helms-Burton Act (a 1996 bill, named after its sponsors). SCOTUS Blog: From 1996 until 2019, when President Donald Trump declined to renew the suspension, U.S. presidents repeatedly suspended the right to bring a lawsuit. After Trump opted not to renew the suspension, Havana Docks filed a lawsuit in Florida against four cruise lines – Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, and MSC. Havana Docks contended that between 2016 and June 2019 the cruise lines had trafficked in property that had belonged to Havana Docks – the company’s right to use and operate the Havana Cruise Port Terminal, which the Cuban government confiscated in 1960 ( SCOTUSblog). More from John Sexton at Hot Air: The timing of this is curious given that we’re currently applying a lot of pressure to Cuba to make a deal that would wind down the revolution in favor of something that could transition to democracy. In theory, this could open the door to a lot more lawsuits ( Hot Air).
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Memorial Day: Freedom 250 to Host Candlelight Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
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The event will be on Monday evening as the nation pays tribute to those who paid the ultimate price in order that we might be free. Fox News: In observance of Memorial Day, country stars, veterans and lawmakers will host a candlelight ceremony to mark America’s 250th birthday at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia Monday. “Memorial Day is a sacred reminder that freedom is never free. We honor the brave men and women who gave their lives defending America and its founding principles that we hold dear,” said the event’s master of ceremonies, Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, to Fox News Digital. “Their sacrifice is the foundation of American freedom, and we thank God for their courage.” Organizers shared event details and rendering with Fox News Digital for a national celebration honoring America’s heroes during a pivotal year bringing together country music stars and officials. “Set against the sacred grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, the evening will serve as a powerful national tribute to America’s fallen heroes through storytelling, music, remembrance, and reflection,” said Freedom250, the nonpartisan group helping coordinate the broader America250 effort, said in a press release ( Fox News). Event details: ( Freedom 250).
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