The Drill Down: DOGE Going After Welfare Fraud — ‘The Money’s There’Breitbart News 19 Mar 2025
As DOGE’s efforts shift to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in social welfare programs including SNAP, Social Security, and Medicaid, The Drill Down podcast welcomes a nationally recognized expert in spotting how those programs are rife with fraud.
Andrew McClenahan is, among other things, intergovernmental committee co-chair for an organization called the United Council on Welfare Fraud, and has investigated fraud in the food stamp program, including one bust several years ago that stopped a $100 million fraud scheme in South Florida. The group is made up of welfare fraud investigators from every state.
In 2018, GAI published a report on fraud in the SNAP program which used McClenahan as a source. Among other things, this report found stolen funds from the SNAP program were even being sent overseas to terrorists in Yemen and Somalia. It documented how criminals have gamed the program to set up false grocery stores and farm stands for the purpose of laundering funds from EBT cards that are loaded each month with funds from the SNAP program.
The bad news is that nothing much was done to curb the fraud, then or since. The good news is that DOGE appears to be listening now and learning fast.
“Elon Musk cited a stat that there’s half a trillion dollars” in fraud going on, McClenahan tells host Eric Eggers. “According to the GAO’s own figures, there’s anywhere from $230 billion to $520 billion in fraudulent payments in [social welfare] programs across the board. So, the money is there if it’s looked at.”
“Whose job is it to identify and elevate fraudulent spending government? What was the federal government’s response when you or people like you would elevate instances like this?” Eggers asks.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/03/19/the-drill-down-doge-going-after-welfare-fraud-the-moneys-there/
