Fraud-fluencers are making the fleecing of taxpayers a lifestyle and flagrantly flaunting it online.   These crafty creators are putting the “con” in “content” by streaming their scheming.   Copycats be warned, this trend is about to end … in the federal pen.

A self-described “con artist” swindled more than $1M from @SBA. She spent the spoils curating an upscale lifestyle on TikTok and Instagram, posting pics wearing Chanel, Gucci, and Prada, while flying in a private jet and driving a convertible Rolls-Royce. She says stealing from the SBA is simple: “You can literally go to a dot-com website … and join a group of scammers, and they’re all just bragging and sending pictures. You just put in the search for whatever you’re interested in. So say it’s SBA loans — you type in E-I-D-L or just S-B-A. And then there’s a bunch of chats of people just selling SBA information. It’s really right at your ****ing fingertips.” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/danielle-miller-scammer.html…

A bureaucrat who worked at @SBA and @IRSnews advertised her illegal pyramid scheme on Instagram. She recruited accomplices online to apply for government aid that she then approved in exchange for kickbacks. She got away with it for years, stealing more than $3.5 million from four different programs. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/former-sba-and-irs-employee-charged-using-government-positions-steal-millions-covid…

A TikTok creator living in the U.S. illegally gained a following bragging about collecting government handouts and encouraging other migrants to “invade” America. “I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work,” he states in one post, while flashing a wad of $100 bills. Thanks to “Papa Biden,” he boasts he was being given enough to support his family without having to get a job. His freeloading ended with a free flight back to Venezuela when he was deported by the Trump Administration. https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2024/04/why-is-venezuelan-tiktok-star-who-urged-immigrants-to-squat-in-us-homes-in-geauga-county-jail.html…

In a music video posted on YouTube, a rapper brags about living large by committing unemployment fraud while waving stacks of cash and applying for bogus jobless benefits on a laptop. The tune is titled “EDD,” short for Employment Development Department, the agency he defrauded for more than $1.2 million. “I’m in Dior havin' money fun “I done got rich off of EDD “And I just woke up to 300 Gs “Stole 60K off an SBA “It's time to ball like the NBA “Ten cards, I’m swiping 10K a day “Counting up bills like a CPA.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ck7hTsug8&list=RDK0ck7hTsug8&start_radio=1…

A podcaster with the motto “F.R.A.U.D. [Finally Rich After Unstoppable Determination] is Dope” stole millions of dollars in unemployment benefits while serving a sentence for stealing food stamps. This fraud-caster has lots to talk about with his growing audience, which now includes the FBI. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/fraud-dope-podcaster-sentenced-federal-prison-again…

A pair of YouTube stars stole tens of thousands of dollars of Social Security benefits from unsuspecting seniors, which financed the luxurious lifestyle their family flaunted to their followers. In a post titled, “We were ARRESTED,” that received 11,000 likes, the couple says they were “shocked” when the police showed up. “I can’t imagine anyone else going through this.” Instead, maybe they should try imagining how the victims of their fraud felt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AANEnhSGtIY…

A TikToker’s post explaining how she scammed SNAP by pretending to be homeless and unable to get a job went viral ... and she went to jail. “People be like, ‘Girl, how do you get food stamps? I wish I could get food stamps.’ B****, you better start lying.” Her video got nearly 48,000 likes and lots of views, including by the police, who arrested her. Why did she do it? “If it’s free, I want it,” she said. “Who wants to keep spending money on food? It’s too much.” She now warns, “everyone, watch what y’all put on the internet because everything is not for the internet—and I learned that.” https://www.newsweek.com/woman-lied-food-stamps-snap-tiktok-owes-thousands-2079850…

A scammer who ripped off more than $400,000 of jobless benefits in just a matter of months bragged about it on Instagram. He posted pics of stacks of the cash he collected and openly discussed his scheme, in which he fraudulently filed at least 34 unemployment claims in 10 different states. https://www.nj.com/news/2022/11/unemployment-scammer-who-stole-400k-bragged-on-instagram-pleads-guilty.html…

Fraud-fluencers on the gram are demonstrating just how easy it is to scam Uncle Sam. That’s ending now. I’ve asked @U.S. GAO to give these fraud-fluencers a follow online and report their tactics so they can be blocked from stealing another taxpayer dollar. https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/gao_fraudfluencers_letter.pdf…

If fraud-fluencers want to be famous, let’s help make their wish come true by sharing their posts, with the @U.S. Department of Justice. These flexing fraudsters aren’t going viral, they’re going to jail. Clout chasers who are crooks-maxxing online will soon be sentence-maxxing behind bars.