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Massive Medicaid fraud scheme puts Minnesota’s federal funding at risk — and fallout could widen

Massive Medicaid fraud scheme puts Minnesota’s federal funding at risk — and fallout could widen

Minnesota is facing threats that the federal government may pull its funding for Minnesota’s Medicaid program until it cleans up its act amid investigations into multiple alleged fraud schemes plaguing the state’s social services system.  Minnesota is coming under heightened scrutiny as President Donald Trump has labeled Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” due to several key fraud schemes targeting the state’s Medicaid program, and other federally funded programs that feed children. More than 80 people have faced charges in the state in connection with these schemes.  Chris Edwards, the Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies at the libertarian think-tank the Cato Institute, said that federal-state funding programs are ripe grounds for fraudulent activity.  “Federal aid-to-state programs are especially vulnerable to fraud and scams because the Feds mainly pay for them,” Edwards said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. “The states administer and they care little about waste because the Feds are paying. The states would have more incentive to run efficient programs if they were funded by state taxes. The states must balance their budgets every year, so politicians must make tradeoffs and focus on efficiency.”  “By contrast, the federal government runs massive deficits, so the politicians don’t care much about waste,” Edwards said. “There’s a double-problem with aid-to-state programs: the states don’t care about waste because it’s federal money, and the Feds don’t care either because they run massive deficits.” MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME UNEARTHS MILLIONS IN LUXURY PROPERTY, CARS: DOJ  Included in this series of alleged fraud schemes is one stemming from a new program known as the Housing Stability Services Program, which offered Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services in an attempt to help those with disabilities, mental illnesses, and substance-use disorders receive housing. The Justice Department so far has charged less than a dozen people for allegedly defrauding the program that runs through Minnesota’s Medicaid service, but more charges are expected.  Additionally, the Trump administration and lawmakers have launched probes into Minnesota’s “Feeding Our Future” $250 million fraud scheme that allegedly targeted a children’s nutrition program the Department of Agriculture funded and that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 77 people have been charged in that scheme, which took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements.  Some fraud cases in Minnesota have collapsed though, and Hennepin Country judge overturned a guilty verdict for Abdifatah Yusuf in a Medicaid fraud case in November. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced in August that Yusuf was found guilty of six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, and claimed that Yusuf used his agency Promise Health Services, LLC to fraudulently obtain Medicaid funds for services that were not provided or were billed based on inaccurate documentation.  Minnesota is dependent on the federal government for a significant portion of its funding. In 2023, federal funding toward Minnesota’s Medicaid program totaled $11 billion — amounting to roughly 58% of all federal funding Minnesota receives, according to the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee. Ultimately, the federal government covers approximately 51% of Minnesota’s Medicaid costs.  In every state, the federal government splits Medicaid costs using the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage formula, which is calculated by comparing the state’s per capita income to U.S. per capita income. Percentages determining how much the federal government covers vary by state, with the federal government absorbing between 50% of Medicaid costs in states like California and Colorado, and up to nearly 77% in Mississippi, according to the Congressional Research Service.  MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES  It’s unclear exactly how many federal dollars went toward fraudulent providers in Minnesota. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid told Fox News Digital Tuesday that an audit will further examine how federal funds were used.   “CMS is using all our resources to investigate and address this egregious fraud scheme in Minnesota…As part of a comprehensive audit, CMS will isolate how much of these funds were misused,” CMS spokeswoman Catherine Howden said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Given the complexity of this situation, along with Minnesota’s lack of transparency, this review will be complex and time intensive.”  Minnesota’s Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by deadline.  Edwards said that it is easier than ever for criminal gangs to partake in these fraudulent schemes, due to the fact that benefits and subsidies are now paid automatically by federal computers, rather than through paper forms.  “The only solution is to devolve these federal-funded programs to the states and let them fund,” Edwards said. “There is no magic money tree in Washington. Welfare programs should be funded and administered at the state level.” TIM WALZ CALLED OUT BY WASHINGTON POST FOR REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL  In September, the Justice Department announced that it had charged eight defendants with wire fraud for their roles in the Housing Stability Services Program Medicaid fraud scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement that the charges marked the “first wave” expected in connection with the case.  “I want to be clear on the scope of the crisis,” Thompson said in a statement in September. “What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending. I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away.” In July 2022, Minnesota stood up its Housing Stability Services Program, which offers Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services. But instead, those charged in September obtained and “misappropriated millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for services provided to those people,” according to the Justice Department. MINNESOTA’S $70 MILLION FRAUD EXPOSES HOW DEMOCRATS BUILT A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO BE ROBBED  Although the Housing Stability Services Program was expected to cost $2.6 million annually, the program paid out $42

Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations

Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations

FIRST ON FOX: Seeking to tackle persistent cost pressures on American families and small firms, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is unveiling a new initiative that will review and roll back federal rules the administration says have driven up prices in sectors ranging from housing to food production. The Deregulation Strike Force, led by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, will coordinate a government-wide review aimed at identifying regulations that hinder economic growth. FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED Trump administration officials say the effort is intended to eliminate what they describe as excessive Biden-era regulations that have imposed an estimated $6 trillion in cumulative compliance costs on American families and small businesses. “Bidenomics brought historic new highs in inflation that crushed working families and small businesses, driven in part by the massive bureaucracy that heaped trillions in new federal regulations onto the backs of hardworking Americans,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler wrote in a statement. TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN — BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED “Through our Deregulation Strike Force, SBA is leveraging its unique authority to deregulate across the federal government and cut senseless red tape that drove up costs for small businesses and consumers, especially in industries hit hardest by Bidenflation,” Loeffler said, adding that the initiative will build on President Trump’s push to reduce costs across the country. Citing what it describes as four years of excessive regulatory overreach, the SBA said its strike force will target cuts across key small-business sectors, including housing and construction, healthcare, agriculture and food production, energy and utilities, transportation and other goods and services across the supply chain. They also argue the latest deregulation campaign reinforces President Donald Trump’s economic message heading into the new year, positioning regulatory relief as a central tool for tackling high prices. The SBA said it has already played a key role in eliminating an estimated $98.9 billion in federal regulations since Trump’s return to office. Some of these actions include changes to reporting rules, energy-efficiency standards and diesel exhaust fluid requirements, which the agency says have contributed to nearly $200 billion in total regulatory savings.

China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing

China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing

China has spent decades building a land-based missile force designed to keep the United States out of a fight over Taiwan — and U.S. officials say it now threatens every major airfield, port and military installation across the Western Pacific. As Washington races to build its own long-range fires, analysts warn that the land domain has become the most overlooked — and potentially decisive — part of the U.S.–China matchup. Interviews with military experts show a contest defined not by tanks or troop movements, but by missile ranges, base access and whether U.S. forces can survive the opening salvos of a war that may begin long before any aircraft take off. “The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force … has built an increasing number of short-, medium-, and long-range missiles,” Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Fox News Digital. “They have the capability to shoot those across the first and increasingly the second island chains.” For years, Chinese officials assumed they could not match the United States in air superiority. The Rocket Force became the workaround: massed, land-based firepower meant to shut down U.S. bases and keep American aircraft and ships outside the fight. HIGH STAKES ON THE HIGH SEAS AS US, CHINA TEST LIMITS OF MILITARY POWER “They didn’t think that they could gain air superiority in a straight-up air-to-air fight,” said Eric Heginbotham, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “So you need another way to get missiles out — and that another way is by building a lot of ground launchers.” The result is the world’s largest inventory of theater-range missiles, backed by hardened underground facilities, mobile launchers and rapid shoot-and-scoot tactics designed to overwhelm U.S. defenses. Despite China’s numerical edge, American forces still hold advantages Beijing has not yet matched — particularly in targeting and survivability.  U.S. missiles, from Tomahawks to SM-6s to future hypersonic weapons, are tied into a global surveillance network the People’s Liberation Army cannot yet replicate. American targeting relies on satellites, undersea sensors, stealth drones and joint command tools matured over decades of combat experience. “The Chinese have not fought a war since the 1970s,” Jones said. “We see lots of challenges with their ability to conduct joint operations across different services.”  The U.S., by contrast, has built multi-domain task forces in the Pacific to integrate cyber, space, electronic warfare and precision fires — a level of coordination analysts say China has yet to demonstrate. Jones said China’s defense industry also faces major hurdles.  “Most of (China’s defense firms) are state-owned enterprises,” he said. “We see massive inefficiency, the quality of the systems … we see a lot of maintenance challenges.” Still, the United States faces a near-term problem of its own: missile stockpiles. “We still right now … would run out (of long-range munitions) after roughly a week or so of conflict over, say, Taiwan,” Jones said. SKIES AT STAKE: INSIDE THE US-CHINA RACE FOR AIR DOMINANCE Washington is trying to close that gap by rapidly expanding production of ground-launched weapons. New Army systems — Typhon launchers, high mobility artillery rocket system, batteries, precision strike missiles and long-range hypersonic weapons with a range exceeding 2,500 kilometers — are designed to hold Chinese forces at risk from much farther away. Heginbotham said the shift is finally happening at scale.  “We’re buying anti-ship missiles like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. If current plans hold, U.S. forces will field roughly 15,000 long-range anti-ship missiles by 2035, up from about 2,500 today. China’s missile-heavy strategy is built to overwhelm U.S. bases early in a conflict. The United States, meanwhile, relies on layered air defenses: Patriot batteries to protect airfields and logistics hubs, terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) interceptors to engage ballistic missiles at high altitude, and Aegis-equipped destroyers that can intercept missiles far from shore. Heginbotham warned the U.S. will need to widen that defensive mix.  “We really need a lot more and greater variety of missile defenses and preferably cheaper missile defenses,” he said. One of Washington’s biggest advantages is its ability to conduct long-range strikes from beneath the ocean. U.S. submarines can fire cruise missiles from virtually anywhere in the Western Pacific, without relying on allied basing and without exposing launchers to Chinese fire — a degree of stealth China does not yet possess. Command integration is another area where Beijing continues to struggle. American units routinely train in multi-domain operations that knit together air, sea, cyber, space and ground-based fires.  Jones and Heginbotham both noted that the People’s Liberation Army has far less experience coordinating forces across services and continues to grapple with doctrinal and organizational problems, including the dual commander–political commissar structure inside its missile brigades. Alliances may be the most consequential difference. Japan, the Philippines, Australia and South Korea provide depth, intelligence sharing, logistics hubs and potential launch points for U.S. forces.  China has no comparable network of partners, leaving it to operate from a much narrower geographic footprint. In a missile war, accuracy, integration and survivability often matter more than sheer volume — and in those areas the United States still holds meaningful advantages. At the heart of this competition is geography. Missiles matter less than the places they can be launched from, and China’s ability to project power beyond its coastline remains sharply constrained. “They’ve got big power-projection problems right now,” Jones said. “They don’t have a lot of basing as you get outside of the first island chain.” The United States faces its own version of that challenge. Long-range Army and Marine Corps fires require host-nation permission, turning diplomacy into a form of firepower.  “It’s absolutely central,” Heginbotham said. “You do need regional basing.” Recent U.S. agreements with the Philippines, along with expanded cooperation with Japan and Australia, reflect a push to position American launchers close enough to matter without permanently stationing large ground forces there. A U.S.–China land conflict would not involve armored columns maneuvering for territory. The decisive question is whether missile units on both sides can

Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University and Australia at White House Christmas event

Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University and Australia at White House Christmas event

President Donald Trump offered condolences to the victims of attacks across the globe on Sunday, from the mass shooting at Brown University to the Hanukkah terrorist attack in Australia. Trump addressed the tragedies while speaking at a Christmas reception at the White House on Sunday, saying his thoughts and support are with the victims of the shooting at Brown. He also condemned the “pure antisemitism” of the terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia, as well as the killing of three Americans in Syria on Saturday. “I want to just pay my respects to the people – unfortunately, two are no longer with us – at Brown University. Nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven,” Trump said. “And, likewise, in Australia, as you know, there was a terrible attack. Eleven dead, 29 badly wounded. And that was an antisemitic attack, obviously. And it, I just want to pay my respects to everybody,” he continued. SYRIANS MARK FIRST YEAR SINCE ASSAD’S FALL AS US SIGNALS NEW ERA IN RELATIONS “We’re here for a different reason. We’re here to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate,” Trump told the crowd gathered. “And I think today we can very say loudly that we celebrate Hanukkah because there was such a horrible attack that was a purely antisemitic attack.” ISRAELI OFFICIALS HEAP BLAME ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AFTER BONDI BEACH SHOOTING: ‘COUNTLESS WARNING SIGNS’ Trump went on to discuss the killing of two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter in Syria. He reiterated that the perpetrators of the attack will face serious consequences. “I can tell you in Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it. They got the person, the individual person. But there will be big damage done,” he said. Three additional soldiers were wounded in the Syria attack, but they are recovering. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region. The gunman was killed by partner forces, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The Pentagon is withholding the identities of the soldiers until at least 24 hours after their families have been notified. Fox News’ Greg Norman, Ashley Oliver, Jennifer Griffin, Benjamin Weinthal and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting

Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting

President Donald Trump said American Jews celebrating Hanukkah should not be worried about their safety following the Bondi Beach attack.  “Celebrate proudly – be proud of who you are,” Trump said to Fox News on Sunday. The president’s comments come after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the mass shooting at a “Hanukkah by the Sea” celebration at Bondi Beach as a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians.” “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated on this attack on our way of life,” said Albanese at a press conference. “There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear. We will eradicate it.” CHRISTIAN PASTORS, INFLUENCERS JOIN 1,000-STRONG ISRAEL MISSION BACKING JEWISH STATE, FIGHTING ANTISEMITISM Police said at least 11 people were killed and dozens more were injured. AUSTRALIAN BYSTANDER DISARMS MASS SHOOTER IN AUSTRALIA HANUKKAH ATTACK At a government meeting in Dimona, Israel, on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned Albanese in an August letter that the Australian government’s policies were encouraging antisemitism.  Netanyahu accused Albanese of failing to act as antisemitism spread and said inaction had helped foster a climate of rising hostility toward Jews. “We saw an action of a brave man – turns out a Muslim brave man, and I salute him – that stopped one of these terrorists from killing innocent Jews. But it requires the action of your government, which you are not taking,” Netanyahu said at the meeting. “And you have to, because history will not forgive hesitation and weakness. It will honor action and strength.” ANTISEMITIC ATTACKERS VIOLENTLY TARGET SYNAGOGUE, ISRAELI RESTAURANT IN AUSTRALIA Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, said the attack was a wakeup call for Jews.  “Terror doesn’t stop in America or in Europe or in Australia. It’s not only targeting the Jews, it’s also targeting the Christians,” Eckstein said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “The answer to this darkness is light.” Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report.