Federal Crackdown: Trump-Era Protesters Now Under Investigation for Massive Benefits Fraud
Federal Crackdown: According to a government document and three persons with knowledge of the situation, the internal watchdog agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is looking into whether individuals involved in President Donald Trump’s Washington crime crackdown are mistakenly registered in some federal programs.
In order to determine whether the individuals involved in Trump’s policing surge in Washington, D.C., have defrauded the Medicare, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs for low-income, elderly, and disabled Americans, the department’s inspector general’s office is searching for potential infractions unrelated to the reason they were stopped by police.
More than 2,000 individuals have been detained in the Washington raid, according to Justice Department officials, but it’s unclear whether any of them have been charged with scamming government programs. According to a government document seen by Reuters, the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office is also investigating individuals who were held or questioned by police but not arrested as part of the investigation.
According to those acquainted with the situation, the probes have diverted departmental resources that would typically be used to investigate more complex, high-value fraud cases including improper bribes and billing methods.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded as follows when questioned about the department’s watchdog investigating potential benefits theft during the Washington surge:
“The Trump Administration is dedicated to preventing all crimes while safeguarding neighborhoods and services for law-abiding citizens at the same time. Everyone may rejoice at the protection of programs that low-income families depend on to survive.
Citing a prohibition against discussing law enforcement activities, a representative for the inspector general’s office of the Health and Human Services Department refused to comment.
Through its investigation and audit activities, the department’s inspector general’s office discovered a total of $7.13 billion in projected recovery in fiscal year 2024. According to the office’s latest report, which opens a new tab to Congress, it delivers $11 in anticipated recovery to the federal government for every dollar spent in its operations.
Involving investigators of this kind in a crackdown that is unlikely to result in a significant financial recovery for the government is rare, according to Mark Lee Greenblatt, the former inspector general of the Interior Department who was dismissed by Trump in January.
“They are high-impact agents who have specialized knowledge, and who return big dollars to the United States Treasury on behalf of the American people,” he said. “Why would we want to sideline them?”
If someone gets flagged for potential enrollment fraud, it’s unclear what the government will do. The offices that oversee the benefits might take action to have them terminated, file a civil lawsuit, or send them for criminal prosecution.
Prosecutors were recently instructed by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., and her criminal head, to press charges in every case and to bring federal charges wherever feasible. There have been some obstacles to that approach, as grand juries have rejected criminal charges at least eight times, which is an uncommon move.
A representative for Pirro chose not to comment
In what he referred to as a “crime crackdown,” Trump took over Washington’s police force in August and poured federal law enforcement officers and National Guard personnel into the city’s streets. Washington became one of the deadliest cities in the US in 2023 as a result of a sharp increase in violent crime, including murders. Federal statistics shows that it fell 35% in 2024, and local police report that it has plummeted another 26% in the first seven months of 2025.
Due to the crackdown, some federal law enforcement agencies have ordered agents to take a break from their regular caseloads in order to alternate doing nocturnal patrols, which are normally handled by local police. This week, Trump said in a new tab that he plans to duplicate the initiative in other towns, beginning with Memphis, Tennessee.