Federal fraud investigators are now active in at least ten states. The crimes range from organized rings stealing children’s food money to phantom Medicaid patients billing the government for care that was never delivered. Here is a state-by-state snapshot of where the money went.

Minnesota: The Gold Standard of Fraud

Minnesota has become the national case study for what happens when one-party government abandons oversight.

The nonprofit Feeding Our Future engineered a scam that stole nearly $250 million intended to feed needy children. The scheme involved opening fake meal sites and submitting fraudulent claims for millions of meals that were never served. Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals, with convictions already secured.

Separately, hundreds of millions in federal childcare funding were stolen by an organized ring that used the money to purchase cars, luxury goods, and real estate — sending portions of the proceeds overseas. Federal investigators are examining whether some of those funds were funneled into political campaigns.

Minnesota’s Medicaid programs have an estimated $9 billion in potential fraud exposure across 14 flagged programs. The Trump administration has withheld $259 million in federal Medicaid matching funds pending corrective action, with billions more at risk.

California: The $180 Billion Problem

Federal investigators are active in Southern California’s homelessness funding programs, probing a $50 million scheme in Los Angeles. Medi-Cal — the state’s Medicaid program — has an estimated $50 billion per year in fraudulent claims, according to federal officials. CMS has sent formal inquiry letters demanding accountability.

California’s own State Auditor identified eight high-risk agencies in December 2025. The Employment Development Department — which lost between $20 and $32 billion in pandemic unemployment fraud — made the list again.

New York: The Home Care Explosion

New York’s home care Medicaid program grew from $2.5 billion in 2019 to $9.1 billion by 2023 — a nearly fourfold increase that federal investigators say is saturated with phantom billing and fabricated claims. CMS has sent New York a formal fraud inquiry letter.

Massachusetts: A New Enforcement Team

On March 27, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley announced the creation of a dedicated Benefit and Voter Fraud Team in Massachusetts — actively investigating SNAP fraud, MassHealth fraud, and childcare subsidy fraud. The team is coordinating directly with Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS.

Maine, Colorado, Illinois, Vermont, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington

Congressional investigators have sent formal fraud inquiries to all of these states — nearly all Democrat-governed — requesting documentation of Medicaid program integrity. Federal funds are contingent on satisfactory responses.

The Pattern

Look at the list. With rare exceptions, the states under active federal fraud investigation share a common characteristic: years or decades of one-party Democratic control, with no meaningful political opposition to force accountability.

That is not a coincidence. It is the predictable outcome of government that faces no consequences for failure.

The NFED, the White House Task Force, and congressional investigators are now providing those consequences. It is long overdue.