Let’s talk about the most popular F-word in Washington. No, not that one—fraud.

While the Trump-era Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is tearing through agencies waving the fraud flag, experts say they’re missing the real action. Because this isn’t about a guy faking a limp to collect disability or someone snagging food stamps they don’t qualify for. This is about global digital crime syndicates, armed with stolen American identities, looting the U.S. Treasury for hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

And nobody seems ready to stop it.

“We Threw Money in the Air”

Fraud expert Linda Miller isn’t just another talking head. She spent a decade at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), helped write the fraud-prevention rulebook, and was appointed to monitor pandemic relief spending in 2020.

What she saw was chaos.

“We could tell right away—it’s all going to get stolen,” she said. “It was like they threw money in the air and let people run around and grab it.”

Trillions were rushed into the U.S. economy during the pandemic to help families and small businesses. But the programs moved online, and the safeguards didn’t. What came next was a cyber crimewave—driven not by petty grifters, but by transnational crime rings and state-backed hackers from China, Russia, and beyond.

The Trillion-Dollar Leak

The GAO says the U.S. government loses up to $521 billion a year to fraud. Miller and others believe it’s closer to $750 billion. Maybe even a trillion.

That’s right. One trillion dollars. Every. Single. Year.

The biggest offenders? Not individuals cheating the system. But foreign adversaries using your identity to steal your tax dollars.

“We’re talking about nation-state actors. Organized crime. Digital gangs,” said Miller. “And they’re getting better every year.”

Stolen Identities, Dirt Cheap

Brian Vren, who leads the FBI’s cyber division, says nearly every American’s personal data is already for sale on the dark web—names, birth dates, Social Security numbers. Everything.

“You can buy it for two bucks,” he said. “That’s the world we’re in now.”

One of the biggest fraud cases in U.S. history came in 2023: a $6 billion heist of pandemic unemployment funds using stolen identities. The criminals? A network of cyber thugs scattered across the globe.

No Help, Just Heartache

Ask Rich and Deianne Wilkin. Their house burned down in the 2024 California wildfires. They filed for FEMA disaster relief—then learned someone had already hijacked their application.

Their Social Security numbers, addresses, even phone numbers had been changed. The government locked their account for suspected identity fraud.

They’re still waiting for help.

“We thought, ‘Oh no… not us too,’” Deianne said.

Deepfakes, AI, and Mandarin in the Background

Fraud isn’t standing still. It’s using AI and deepfakes now. In one case, a scammer tried to verify a stolen identity with a faked video—and a brief glitch exposed another man’s face behind the mask.

You could even hear someone speaking Mandarin in the background.

This isn’t just criminal activity—it’s national security.

China’s Cyber Mafia

The FBI has traced one major hacking group, AP41, back to the Chinese government. Between 2020 and 2022, AP41 hacked at least six U.S. state systems. They used the data to file fake unemployment claims, laundered the cash through shell companies, and sent it home to China.

Estimated take: $60 million.

Recovered? Almost none.

And that was supposed to go to unemployed Americans.

“China is a top destination for stolen U.S. taxpayer money,” one national security official told reporters. “And the true losses are likely unknowable.”

Is Anyone Listening?

Even with this scale of theft, Miller says many federal agencies don’t want to use the word “fraud.”

“I’ve had officials stop me mid-sentence and ask if we could call it ‘misappropriation’ instead.”

It sounds nicer. Less criminal. But it is criminal.

And the DOGE office? They say they’ve saved taxpayers $160 billion through cost-cutting and inter-agency coordination. But even those numbers have been challenged—and sometimes walked back.

Fraud Isn’t Partisan. It’s Theft.

This isn’t red vs. blue. It’s the U.S. vs. well-organized cyber-criminals—and rogue governments—stealing your money.

“Fraud is not political,” Miller insists. “It’s mom and apple pie stuff. We all agree that criminals shouldn’t be looting the Treasury.”

There’s still a chance for real reform. But only if the watchdogs look in the right direction—and stop pretending that “misappropriation” is something different than what it really is: theft on a massive scale.