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In a fiery segment on his podcast, former Secret Service agent and conservative commentator Dan Bongino sounded the alarm about what he and others claim is one of the largest fraud scandals in U.S. history. According to Bongino and Senior Policy Advisor Stephen Miller, foreign fraud rings may have stolen as much as $1 trillion from taxpayer-funded benefit programs—an allegation that has ignited political debate and concern across the country.
The stunning claim stems from recent revelations tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal initiative launched under President Trump and led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. According to Miller, DOGE discovered that international actors have been exploiting vulnerabilities in America’s Social Security and welfare systems by using fraudulent identities and counterfeit Social Security numbers.
“These are foreign nationals who enter the United States, employ fake Social Security numbers, and adopt false identities to pilfer billions in taxpayer benefits,” Miller stated in a recent Fox News interview. He emphasized that full access to IRS and federal benefit data is still pending and necessary for DOGE to determine the total scope of the fraud.
Dan Bongino, who currently serves as Deputy Director of the FBI in the Trump Administration, echoed Miller’s concerns during a recent episode of The Dan Bongino Show. “He [Musk] uncovered a foreign fraud ring within our retirement programs. People—even if you support government waste—at least waste it here, right? If you’re going to squander government funds and flush it down the toilet, at least waste it on U.S. citizens,” Bongino said.
Miller went further, stating that if DOGE’s reforms are fully enacted, American taxpayers could see over $1 trillion in savings over the next ten years. This projection is based on DOGE’s ongoing investigations and preliminary audits of multiple federal benefit programs.
Despite the strong rhetoric and alarming figures, it’s important to note that these claims—while widely circulated by various conservative media outlets—have yet to be independently verified. The estimates are based on DOGE’s internal analysis, and no government audit or nonpartisan study has yet confirmed the full scale of the alleged fraud.
The Department of Government Efficiency is composed of federal employees and appointees, and operates under the constitutional authority of the executive branch. Its mission, as described by Miller, is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government.
While the assertions made by Bongino and Miller are significant and warrant attention, experts and watchdog groups emphasize the need for comprehensive, transparent investigations before drawing conclusions. Until more data is available and independently reviewed, the true impact of these alleged foreign fraud rings remains to be fully determined.
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