Biggest Dividend Payout in U.S. History: $1 Trillion up for Grabs!

Trump just launched a $1 trillion National Investment Fund to replace income taxes and send direct payouts to Americans. You could claim up to $21,307--before the first public checks go out. This is historic. Act now to be first in line.

DOGE trumpets unemployment fraud that government already found

MATT SEDENSKY
April 15, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) -- The latest government waste touted by billionaire Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency is hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment claims it purportedly uncovered.

One problem: Federal investigators already found what appears to be the same fraud, years earlier and on a far greater scale.

In a post last week on X, the social media site Musk owns, DOGE announced "an initial survey of unemployment insurance claims since 2020" found 24,500 people over the age of 115 had claimed $59 million in benefits; 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5 collected $254 million; and 9,700 people with birthdates more than 15 years in the future garnered $69 million from the government.

The tweet drew a predictable party-line reaction of either skepticism or cheers, including from Musk himself, who said what his team found was "so crazy" he re-read it several times before it sank in.

"Another incredible discovery," marveled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who repeated DOGE's findings to President Donald Trump in a Cabinet meeting last week.

Chavez-DeRemer's recounting of the alleged fraud, including claims of benefits filed by unborn children, drew laughter in the Cabinet room and a reaction from Trump himself.

"Those numbers are really bad," he said.

But Chavez-DeRemer needn't look further than her own department's Office of the Inspector General to find such fraud had already been reported by the type of federal workers DOGE has demonized.

"They're trying to spin this narrative of, 'Oh, government is inefficient and government is stupid and they're catching these things that the government didn't catch,'" says Michele Evermore, who worked on unemployment issues at the U.S. Department of Labor during the administration of former President Joe Biden. "They're finding fraud that was marked as fraud and saying they found out it was fraud."

The Social Security Act of 1935 enshrined unemployment benefits in federal law but left it to individual states to set up systems to collect unemployment taxes, process applications and mete out support.

Though states have almost complete control over their own unemployment systems, special relief programs -- most notably widely expanded benefits enacted by the first Trump administration at the outset of the COVID pandemic -- inject more direct federal involvement and a flood of new beneficiaries into the system.

In regular times, state unemployment systems perform "very well, not so well and terribly," according to Stephen Wandner, an economist at the National Academy of Social Insurance who authored the book "Unemployment Insurance Reform: Fixing a Broken System." With COVID slamming the economy and creating a flood of new claims that states couldn't handle, Wandner says many more were "quite terrible."

Trump signed the COVID unemployment relief into law on March 27, 2020, and from the very start it became a magnet for fraud. In a memo to state officials about two weeks later, the Department of Labor warned that the expanded benefits had made unemployment programs "a target for fraud with significant numbers of imposter claims being filed with stolen or synthetic identities."

That same memo offered an option for states trying to protect a person whose identity was stolen to fraudulently collect unemployment benefits. To preserve a record of the fraud but keep innocent people from being linked to it, states could create a "pseudo claim," the memo advises.

Those "pseudo claims" led to records of toddlers and centenarians getting checks. The Labor Department's inspector general tallied some 4,895 unemployment claims from people over the age of 100 between March 2020 and April 2022, but another departmental memo explained that the filings stemmed from states changing dates of birth to protect people whose identities were used.

"Many of the claims identified ... were not payments to individuals over 100 years of age, but rather 'pseudo records' of previously identified fraudulent claims," the 2023 memo says.

A Labor Department spokeswoman did not respond to questions about Musk's findings and DOGE gave no details on how it came to find the supposed fraud or whether it duplicates what was already found.

Though DOGE ostensibly looked at longer timeframe than federal investigators previously had, it tallied just $382 million in fake unemployment claims, a tiny fraction of what investigators were already aware.

In 2022, the Labor Department said suspected COVID-era unemployment fraud totaled more than $45 billion. The Government Accountability Office later said it was far worse, likely $100 billion to $135 billion.

"I don't think it's news to anyone," says Amy Traub, an expert on unemployment at the National Employment Law Project. "It's been widely reported. There've been multiple congressional hearings."

If DOGE's newest allegations have an air of familiarity, it's because they echo its prior findings of about Social Security payments to the dead and the unbelievably old. Those were false claims.

That makes DOGE an imperfect messenger even when fraud has occurred, as with unemployment claims.

Jessica Reidl, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank The Manhattan Institute, is a fiscal conservative who so champions rooting out federal waste she has written 600 articles on the subject. Though she believes unemployment insurance fraud is rife, she has trouble accepting any findings from DOGE, which she says has acted ineffectively and possibly illegally.

"When DOGE says impossibly old dead people are collecting unemployment in huge numbers, I become skeptical," Reidl says. "DOGE does not have a good track record in that area."

Traub said the burst of pandemic-era unemployment fraud led states to implement new security measures. She questioned why Musk's team was trumpeting old fraud as if it's new.

"Business leaders and economists are warning about a national recession, so it's natural to think about unemployment," says Traub. "It's an attack on the image of a critically important program and perhaps an attempt to undermine public support on unemployment insurance when it couldn't be more important."

___

Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://x.com/sedensky.

Continue Reading...

Popular

Why Is Sidus Space Stock Falling Today?

Sidus Space reported Q1 revenue of $238,000, down from $1.05 million a year ago. The decline reflects a shift to new commercial models.

Dogecoin Up 47% In One Month: How Much Higher Can It Go?

Dogecoin's (CRYPTO: DOGE) price rally is supported by key metrics, creating a clean trading pattern, according to prominent analysts.

Elon's Greatest Invention... Hidden in South Memphis? - Ad

Tech legend Jeff Brown recently traveled to the industrial zone of South Memphis to investigate what he believes will be Elon's greatest invention ever... Yes, even bigger than Tesla or SpaceX.

Fortnite says its now offline on Apple's iOS around the world

NEW YORK (AP) — Fortnite says it's now unavailable on Apple's iOS globally because the tech giant blocked a bid to release the popular video game for iPhone users in the U.S. and Europe.

Trump's big bill faces next hurdle in Congress as GOP conservatives warn they may vote against it

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are preparing to push their of tax breaks and spending cuts through its next hurdle Friday in the Budget Committee, but conservatives are warning they could vote to halt it unless there are further changes.

What Nvidia's $500B Move Could Mean for the Next Tier of Builders - Ad

With big tech locking in supply, smaller players are left waiting. But one public company is building an edge: partnering inside NVIDIA's ecosystem and delivering real compute to real customers.

Steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs to idle 3 steel plants in Pennsylvania and Illinois

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs will indefinitely idle three steel plants this summer, saying Friday that it is being buffeted by sluggish demand and pricing for some products, including high carbon steel sheets.

Brace Yourself for Jeff Bezos' "Amazon Helios" - Ad

Amazon delivers 20 million packages a day... powers some of the most popular websites... delivers medication to half of the U.S. population... and even produces award-winning films and TV shows. But a Wall Street legend -- twice featured on 60 Minutes -- predicts that "Amazon Helios" will be bigger than all of those... COMBINED.

Shiba Inu's Shibarium Is Booming — Here's What's Driving the 54% Transaction Surge

Shibarium, the Layer-2 blockchain of Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), has reported a significant 54% increase in transactions. This surge indicates a growing interest and engagement in the network.

Automaker owned by Taiwan's Foxconn to make EVs for Japan's Mitsubishi Motors

Foxtron, an automaker partly owned by Taiwan iPhone manufacturer Hon Hai Technology Group, and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan said Wednesday they have agreed to develop an electric vehicle to be sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Trump's Crypto Blueprint Unveils This Infrastructure Powerhouse - Ad

One blockchain token sits at the heart of Washington's pro-crypto agenda. Institutions are loading up while it still trades at a discount. Here's how to get in for $3.

UPS to cut 20,000 jobs, close some facilities as it reduces amount of Amazon shipments it handles

UPS is looking to slash about 20,000 jobs and close more than 70 facilities as it drastically reduces the amount of Amazon shipments it handles.

This Coin Could Surge Like Bitcoin Did Back in 2013... - Ad

A new coin is emerging in the crypto world. And investing in it now could end up like Bitcoin or Ethereum during their first bull runs.

Musk's Ex-Wife Opens Up About Why Life With Elon Was So Difficult

Justine Wilson recently shed light on the complexities of their marriage and the challenges she faced being married to the Tesla CEO.

Trump-Affiliated World Liberty Financial Defies Ethics Concerns, Raises $550 Million

WLFI, a Trump-run crypto venture, raised $550M from global investors but conflicts with Trump's presidency raise ethical concerns.

Nvidia Just Committed $500B to AI Infrastructure - Here's the Quiet Ripple Effect - Ad

The AI race isn't just about apps anymore - it's about infrastructure. NVIDIA's $500 billion announcement is a wake-up call: the real opportunity may lie in powering the future, not just coding it. One public company is already stepping in and has support from NVIDIA's inner circle.

Tempus AI (TEM) Stock Lower Ahead Of Q1 Earnings Report, Notetaker AI Debut

Tempus AI shares are trading lower by 1.3% Tuesday afternoon. The company will report its Q1 earnings after Tuesday's market close.

US robot makers hope to beat China in humanoid race. Tariffs could affect their ambitions

BOSTON (AP) — weren't on the agenda of this week's Robotics Summit, where thousands of tech industry workers mingled with humanoid and other robot varieties and talked about how to build and sell a new generation of increasingly autonomous machines.

World Economic Forum: "Arguably the Most Exciting Human Discovery Since Fire" - Ad

Sam Altman, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg are all investing vast sums of money into a radical technology. According to Bloomberg, this could become 10 times bigger than AI, quantum computing, electric vehicles, cryptocurrencies, and robotics combined. And one stock is at the center of it all.

Is Norfolk Southern 'making it right' after Ohio derailment? New lawsuit adds to doubts

Norfolk Southern began making promises to East Palestine, Ohio, soon after its train in February 2023, saying it would after five tank cars of vinyl chloride were intentionally burned, sending up a huge black plume of smoke that spread more toxic chemicals over homes, schools and farms.

Nvidia Is About to Shock the World: July 23rd - Ad

Jeff Brown, the tech legend who picked shares of Nvidia in 2016 before they jumped by more than 22,000%, is warning everyone to... Mark this date on your calendar: July 23rd! That's when Nvidia could help send shares of this Elon Musk supplier skyrocketing higher.

Elon Musk Drops Stunning Bombshell? - Ad

Behind closed doors, Musk revealed a game-changing breakthrough technology that could shake the tech world & crush major companies. Why is no one talking about it? Luckily, we had a man on the inside - watch now to see the details & how to profit!

Climate change is making coffee more expensive. Tariffs likely will too

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — With her purple-and-pink hair swaying, Reneé Colón stands on a stepladder in the rented corner of a warehouse, pouring Brazilian coffee beans into her groaning old roasting machine.

URGENT: Trump Could Buy 1,000,000 Bitcoins Tomorrow? - Ad

Leak from a closed-door White House meeting reveals the Trump team may buy up to 1 million Bitcoins-as soon as tomorrow . A special briefing reveals the #1 coin to buy now (not Bitcoin or Ethereum).

Dogecoin Sees Spike In Bullish Long Bets Despite A 7% Weekly Drop: What's Next?

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) may be in a corrective phase, but that hasn't deterred derivatives traders from amping up bullish bets on the meme coin.

Iran's president visits those injured in port explosion that killed at least 28 people

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's president visited those injured Sunday in that rocked one of the Islamic Republic's main ports, a facility purportedly linked to an earlier delivery of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant.

He Called Bitcoin to $100k... Now He Says This Coin Is Next - Ad

Juan Villaverde may be America's top crypto expert. According to Juan's timing model, we are entering what could be the biggest bull market in crypto's history. With America's first crypto president in office, it could be the biggest gains the market has ever seen. And one special coin could skyrocket.

Trump Boots Mike Waltz As National Security Adviser, Taps Marco Rubio As Interim Replacement

Trump ousts national security adviser Mike Waltz amid internal tensions and a messaging scandal, naming him UN ambassador and replacing him temporarily with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Biggest Dividend Payout in U.S. History: $1 Trillion up for Grabs! - Ad

Trump just launched a $1 trillion National Investment Fund to replace income taxes and send direct payouts to Americans. You could claim up to $21,307--before the first public checks go out. This is historic. Act now to be first in line.

Trump Administration Quietly Disbands Key Infection Control Committee Weeks Before Notifying Members, Halting Updates To National Health Guidelines Amid Rising Disease Threats

The Trump administration has terminated a key federal advisory committee responsible for national infection control standards in healthcare facilities, leaving experts concerned about future guidance for hospitals during disease outbreaks.

A Historic Gold Announcement Is About to Rock Wall Street - Ad

The greatest investor of all time is about to validate what Garrett Goggin has been saying for months: Gold is entering a once-in-a-generation mania. Front-running Buffett has never been more urgent - and four tiny miners could be your ticket to 100X gains.

Asia Mixed, Europe Markets Gain; Gold Softens On Easing Tensions - Global Markets Today While US Slept

US markets closed higher as strong earnings, trade developments, and recession concerns were weighed. DJIA up 0.75%, S&P 500 up 0.58%, Nasdaq up 0.55%.

Trending Now

Information, charts or examples are for illustration and educational purposes only and not for individualized investment management This message contains commercial elements, such as advertising. We only send these offers to those who have opted in to our newsletter. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For these reasons we strongly suggest trading in a DEMO/Simulated account. The information provided by us is for educational and informational purposes only. We make no representations or warranties concerning the products, practices or procedures of any company or entity mentioned or recommended and have not determined if the statements and opinions of the advertiser are accurate, correct or truthful. If you use, act upon or make decisions in reliance on information contained or any external source linked within it, you do so at your own peril and agree to hold us, our officers, directors, shareholders, affiliates and agents without fault.

Copyright markethundred.com
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service