Saturday, January 10, 2026

 a good start;


Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading the charge to focus on Minneapolis, Minnesota Somali fraud rings for targeted regional actions.  The IRS Criminal Investigations division has been dispatched to focus on the Minneapolis region to identify fraudulent use of public assistance services, combined with the abuse of federal taxpayer funds.

These fraud cases, ongoing since the early 2020s and intensifying in 2024–2026, involve allegations of misappropriating hundreds of millions (potentially up to several billions) in taxpayer funds intended for child nutrition, autism therapy, housing stabilization, personal care assistance, and other Medicaid programs.

In a remarkable approach, Secretary Bessent announced during a Fox News interview that a regional targeting effort is now underway that will block anyone who receives public assistance from sending money overseas (remittances to foreign countries).  This is not a fee or tax on the remittance, or financial transaction; this is a complete block of their ability to send money overseas.  Anyone receiving public assistance will not be able to send money to foreign lands.

Yes, it seems like this is initially going to be subject to the honest admission of the money sender. However, with the IRS reviewing each transfer and cross referencing to public assistance records anyone who attempts to work around this regulation will be subject to federal laws on financial fraud, wire service fraud and potentially money laundering..........more........

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