And the fraud indictments just keep coming. This time, 15 people in Minnesota have been charged in what prosecutors describe as a sprawling scheme that allegedly ripped off taxpayers for roughly $90 million through public healthcare programs.
That is, as Joe Biden once memorably put it, a big freakin’ deal.
FBI Director Kash Patel laid out the scope of the case in a lengthy post on X, and the details are staggering. According to Patel, the indictments involve what authorities say are the two largest Medicaid fraud cases ever charged in that district, along with additional fraud tied to seven other Medicaid-related programs.
The allegations cover everything from Housing Stabilization Services and child care programs to Individualized Home Supports. But the most disturbing accusations involve an autism treatment program known as Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention, or EIDBI.
Federal investigators allege that some defendants orchestrated a scheme worth more than $40 million by paying kickbacks to parents, fraudulently steering children into autism diagnoses regardless of medical necessity, and billing Medicaid for services that were never actually provided.
If true, this goes well beyond ordinary financial fraud. It means vulnerable children and struggling families were allegedly used as tools in a money-making operation designed to exploit taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.
Patel framed the indictments as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to aggressively pursue public corruption and healthcare fraud. He wrote that law enforcement had been given a mandate to “systematically dismantle this exact kind of public fraud in America,” and promised more cases are coming.
🚨🚨 Today – 15 individuals have been indicted for over $90 million in an alleged massive healthcare fraud scheme in Minnesota, after a sweeping FBI investigation with @TheJusticeDept and our Interagency Partners.
These charges involve the two LARGEST Medicaid fraud cases ever…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 21, 2026
Cases like this deserve swift prosecution and, if convictions follow, serious prison time. Fraud on this scale does not just cost money. It corrodes trust in public institutions and damages programs that millions of Americans legitimately rely on.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a similar point in his own statement. He said investigators uncovered “brazen schemes” involving fake diagnoses, nonexistent services, and fraudulent billing practices that enriched criminals at public expense.
Kennedy also argued that healthcare fraud has become a massive national problem, costing taxpayers tens of billions annually and undermining confidence in programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Whether one agrees with every aspect of his broader healthcare views or not, he is correct about one thing: fraud poisons public trust.
That may be the biggest issue here.
A society can only sustain large public programs if people believe the system is fundamentally fair and competently managed. When taxpayers repeatedly see stories involving massive fraud, fake billing, and corruption, confidence erodes. People stop believing the money is going where it is supposed to go. Cynicism replaces trust.
And meanwhile, every fraudulent dollar diverted into a criminal scheme is a dollar unavailable to families who genuinely need care.
.@SecKennedy: “Investigators uncovered brazen schemes that billed taxpayers for nonexistent services, fraudulent diagnoses, and fake care, while criminals enriched themselves at public expense… When criminals exploit these programs, taxpayers lose billions and vulnerable… https://t.co/OrXiCm0p0q pic.twitter.com/y9vr0shgzp
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2026
Americans can debate healthcare policy endlessly. They can argue about federal versus state control, public versus private systems, spending levels, or bureaucratic oversight. Those are legitimate political discussions.
But this is outside all of that.
These defendants are accused of crimes against taxpayers, against vulnerable patients, and against children whose medical needs were allegedly exploited for profit. Whatever someone thinks about the healthcare system itself, blatant fraud like this cannot be tolerated.
At the very least, it appears the federal government is finally treating these schemes with the seriousness they deserve.
