DOGE Report: Three Blue States Responsible for 80% of US Unemployment Fraud in Last 4 Years
The DOGE team found that $59 million in unemployment benefits was paid to 24,500 people listed as over 115 years old. Another $254 million went to 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5.
On Thursday, the Department of Government Efficiency revealed that three deep-blue states—California, New York, and Massachusetts—were responsible for $305 million, or 80%, of the $382 million in fraudulent unemployment payments issued since 2020.
DOGE also reported that 68% of unemployment benefits paid to parolees flagged by Customs and Border Protection as being on the terrorist watchlist or having criminal records were issued in California.
The DOGE team found that $59 million in unemployment benefits was paid to 24,500 people listed as over 115 years old. Another $254 million went to 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5, while $69 million was distributed to 9,700 people with birthdates more than 15 years in the future.
The report highlights one case in particular: an individual born in the year 2154—not a typo—received $41,000 in benefits.
California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits.
Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal… https://t.co/6jYGfxW7Fr
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) April 10, 2025
Fox News points out that California, New York, and Massachusetts are all governed entirely by Democrats, holding what’s known as a “Democratic trifecta” — control of the state legislature and governor’s office. They also hold a “Democratic triplex,” meaning Democrats occupy the top three statewide executive positions: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
In response to Fox‘s request for a comment on the new revelations, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said, “There’s a reason for the mass exodus from Democrat-run states that have mismanaged their economies and driven residents to the nearest Republican-led state. High taxes, poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars and progressive policies continue to yield negative results, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support the work of DOGE.”
DOGE also reported this week that since 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol (under the Biden administration) has paroled over 6,300 individuals flagged on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist or with criminal records into the country with “minimal screening.” Though their paroles have now been revoked, all received Social Security numbers and could access federal benefits. Among them:
- 905 received Medicaid, including 4 on the terrorist watchlist ($276K paid out)
- 41 collected Unemployment Insurance ($42K total)
- 22 received federal student loans ($280K)
- 409 got tax refunds in 2024 ($751K)
- An undisclosed number received SNAP (food stamps)
Under the Biden administration, it was routine for Border Patrol to admit aliens into the United States with no legal status and minimal screening. So far, CBP identified a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBI's Terrorist Screening… https://t.co/nSLwwaUmtb
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) April 10, 2025
Conservative activist Ned Ryun joined Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday evening to discuss DOGE’s latest discoveries. Ryun asked, “What is going on in these blue states that they continue to give these unemployment benefits to illegals?”
“I think it’s the arguments that Elon’s been making, whether it’s the 1.3 million illegals on Medicaid, over 2 million that got social security numbers in 2024,” Ryun noted. “It’s again Democrats trying to backdoor illegals into the system to eventually turn them into voting citizens to again give Democrats political power.”
Ned Ryun calls out blue states about unemployment benefit fraud motives.
"305 million of that 400 million in the improper unemployment benefits were from three states. Three blue states. California, New York, and Massachusetts. And it turns out that California, of the people… pic.twitter.com/5vYm5K9zs4
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) April 11, 2025
According to the DOGE clock, the team has already saved taxpayers $150 billion.
Speaking of DOGE, during Tuesday’s White House briefing, a reporter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt about a remark Trump had made the previous week. He claimed that DOGE had “found something today that’s horrible,” and while he declined to share any details at the time, he added, “It’s horrible. You’ll find out very soon.”
“There has been a discovery,” Leavitt replied. “I hate to leave you hanging on a cliff, but I don’t want to get ahead of the president on that. But I can confirm there has been a discovery. It’s just not quite yet ready for release.”
🚨BREAKING: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announces a MASSIVE discovery has been made by DOGE and will be announced very soon…
pic.twitter.com/WsQgKU8oSH— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 8, 2025
In the meantime, I’ve come across several cryptic posts on social media that may—or may not—be related to the anticipated revelation. One that stood out was a message from independent journalist Emerald Robinson, along with a curious response from Rasmussen Reports.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Fact Check: True https://t.co/Jx6reZa9h3
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) April 9, 2025
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
The degree of difficulty in identifying the “…three Blue States…” mentioned in the headline is 0.000000001.
I picked Illinois over Massachusetts.
I thought about Illinois too but I live in MA and have watched the spendthrifts waste money since in the late 80s.
I’m with Crawford. It’s pick 3 of 4. (And I live in Illinois. It’s the first state I thought of)
Me too.
Cali was easy then from the reports of how many end up in NY I picked that but Mass was a surprise. I also picked Illinois.
“On Thursday, the Department of Government Efficiency revealed that three deep-blue states—California, New York, and Massachusetts—were responsible [lots and lots of fraud].”
This zeros in on the problem – Too Much Government.
And blue states as the proxy for Democrats/socialists/collectivists want more and more government. Government without end. NB: the only known alternative to limited government is _________ government.
What Democrats want you to forget or ignore is that the Framers drafted the document on the principle of LIMITATION. Democrats want to believe that it’s a doc of expansion. Huge boost for this came from FDR and a betraying and unfaithful (to his Article VI oath) justice named Owen Roberts ( the switcher-in-time judge; West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, (1937)).
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” Federalist 45.
OK, so who is Bondi gonna send to jail? Answer,…Nobody!
Until there are indictments, prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing, it is impossible to believe the numbers claimed by DOGE.
C’mon, . . . it would be heartless to send 24,500 people over the age of 115 to jail. How would they be able to vote from jail?
For democrat election-fraud, the “votes” don’t even have to come from a “voter”, as the democrat party controls the counting. It is as corrupt as their party.
Jeez, it’s been a couple of months. Give it a chance
I am impressed at the creativity and shear boldness of people scamming the system. Who would have thought of impersonating an “individual born in the year 2154”? On the flip side, I am appalled at the “responsible” governmental administrators and their clear casualness with other people’s money.
I’m appalled at the software which would accept an application from somebody who specified a birth date in the year 2154.
Yeah… remember back at the dawn of DOGE, all that “seCrEt adVancEd goVerNMent sOftware” that musk was itching to get his hands on so he could steal it for his companies?
Maybe if he wanted his next Mars rocket to land on Ork.
Should put these three states into federal receivership until they can get their acts together which will of course be never because the residents are completely toxic beyond belief.
Well golly gee whiz who.would have thunk it? There should be either direct Federal oversight of the programs in these States or an end to funding. Probably be a good idea to follow up on every other State operated program receiving Federal funds to determine what else suffers from ‘lack of competent oversight’.
“…Another $254 million went to 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5, while $69 million was distributed to 9,700 people with birthdates more than 15 years in the future.”
All this exposing, discovering, reporting of this egregious, systemic THEFT is fine n dandy, but have any of these cases been refered to DOJ for prosecution? I mean prison time, not merely ‘give it back, and here’s your wrist slap’, or ‘gee california corrupt-o-crats, we caught you enabling all this theft, so by golly you’ll have to resign.’
NO. Put these people in PRISON or it’s still just *clown world* where they’ll do it again when another JoeBama clone will ignore their corruption. PRISON. NOW.
It wasn’t that hard to put all those J6 people in prison, arrested but not convicted, all with hearing dates set between the next planetary alignment and the twelfth of never, .
This shouldn’t be any harder. Just do it.
There needs to be some way to create a special court to try all the fraud that is being and will continue to be discovered. It needs to be in a red state, or it will just be a waste of time.
Biden and Obama judges and blue state juries will do all they can to prevent conviction and/or meaningful jail time for the massive amount of theft that has gone unchecked for years.
No one can be surprised at this point. Leftists shovel money out to their clients and pocket their good portion.
Ugh. I’m shadow banned again.
Just wait it out, trouper.
Not at all surprising. I lived for a very long time in NYC and California. Both places wallow in corruption and depravity, especially NYC. The residents of NYC don’t mind corruption so much as they would like to get in on it. “Hey how can I make a buck out of this?” For me the defining event in NYC was the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964. This atrocity revealed the nature of the New Yorkers. Abraham could not find ten righteous men in all of Sodom, and so G_d destroyed the city. Even though NYC has ten thousand times the number of people in ancient Sodom, I doubt one could find ten righteous men there today. It deserves the same fate.
So if people on the terrorist watchlist in Cali are getting SS then they must have an address. Seems like an easy fix for them at least
So the main states have been identified, but this needs to be given for a group of FBI or DOJ to nail the people. If any are in state, county, or local government they need to be immediately arrested. If there are others then they get arrested next. If any money is going outside the country it should be blocked. I understand that it takes time to setup cases but it should go faster.