Days after tech mogul Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) revealed over $380 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, the government agency has identify California, New York and Massachusetts as the primary culprits, according to Fox News. A vast majority of the amount- $305 million- has been traced to just these Democrat-led states in improper claim payments, DOGE said on Thursday.
According to the DOGE report, California, New York and Massachusetts were responsible for over 79% of the improper payments with California accounting for 68% of the benefits that were dispensed under former President Joe Biden to parolees identified by federal authorities as being on the government's terrorist watchlist, or who had criminal records.
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What DOGE report says on Democrat states
Each of these three states have a Democratic trifecta- meaning Democrats control the state House, Senate and the governor's office. They also have a Democratic triplex, which includes party control of the Attorney General, Secretary of State and governorship.
What was more surprising was that the misuse of public funds was not just limited to questionable age records or duplicate filings. "There’s a reason for the mass exodus from Democrat-run states that have mismanaged their economies and driven residents to the nearest Republican-led state," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. "High taxes, poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars and progressive policies continue to yield negative results, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support the work of DOGE."
Earlier this week, the watchdog agency raised alarms about the sheer absurdity of some claim records. Since 2020, unemployment benefits had been mistakenly awarded to individuals listed as infants, toddlers, supercentenarians, and even people with birthdates that hadn’t yet occurred. It revealed that since 2020, hundreds of millions in fraudulent unemployment benefits went to tens of thousands of recipients listed as over 115 years old, between ages 1 and 5, or even with birthdates that haven't occurred yet.
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"This is another incredible discovery by the DOGE team, finding nearly $400 million in fraudulent unemployment payments. The Labor Department is committed to recovering Americans’ stolen tax dollars. We will catch these thieves and keep working to root out egregious fraud," said Labor Department Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Moreover, DOGE also found this week that it was "routine" under the Biden administration to admit immigrants into the country with minimal screening and, as a result, led to more than 6,000 people — either with criminal records, or flagged on the FBI's terror watchlist — entering the country.
DOGE disclosed that under the Biden-era immigration approach, the federal government routinely allowed foreign nationals to enter the United States with minimal vetting. As a result, more than 6,000 individuals with criminal histories or flagged by federal counterterrorism databases entered the country — and many were able to exploit the public welfare system.
Hundreds of those individuals reportedly made use of various taxpayer-funded programs, with the Department of Government Oversight (DOGE) recording at least $42,000 in unemployment benefits paid out to them. Additional financial assistance came through federal aid programs, including student loans, food stamps, and tax refunds issued by the IRS. By contrast, during former President Donald Trump's administration, individuals flagged by federal authorities for criminal backgrounds or inclusion on the terror watchlist were denied parole access altogether.
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