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Taxpayer Theft Runs Wild But Trump’s Fraud Czar Signals a Crackdown

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  January 29, 2026 7:30 PM

President Donald Trump has appointed a national fraud czar, Colin McDonald, and it's a welcome move. 

The appointment follows criminals stealing from hardworking taxpayers. 

In Minnesota, criminals likely stole $9 billion from 14 social benefit programs with little to no fraud prevention. 

Criminals stole $250 million from the Feeding Our Future Program meant to feed children, $14 million meant to help autistic kids, and more from a housing stabilization fund and child care program. 

 

The exposed fraud pushed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to say that he’ll never run for public office again. 

Before millions of Americans shell out money in taxes come April, the state and federal government should shut down fraud in benefits programs nationwide. 

States have reimbursed $322 million worth of stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits since 2023, according to a dashboard maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Criminals steal from SNAP in many ways. Retailers can sell benefits illegally, and in Massachusetts, two store owners were caught committing $7 million worth of fraud. 

In one case, a federal employee was bribed and gave confidential information that helped steal about $66 million worth of SNAP benefits. 

This week, a California baker was caught stealing $3 million worth of SNAP benefits. 

Instead of harassing Americans who pay taxes, the federal government should shatter the foothold that allows criminals to steal from Americans. 

Some criminals steal taxpayer benefits and then send that money overseas to fund terrorism and crime networks, according to Haywood Talcove of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a company that  provides security and fraud prevention to banks and unemployment agencies.