Auditor Diana DiZoglio and her team testified before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 in Gardner Auditorium. Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
Alison Kuznitz |SHNS
Auditor Diana DiZoglio warned a powerful legislative committee last week that her office has not received child care voucher fraud case referrals from a state agency in several years, piquing the interest of the House budget chief and touching off fresh sparring with the executive branch.
The Department of Early Education and Care told the News Service the drop-off is a result of the EEC taking the lead on fraud investigations, based on an updated procedure it discussed with the state auditor’s office, according to an EEC spokesperson. DiZoglio’s investigatory bureau chief fired back that the EEC is taking a “hostile” approach as the auditor’s office seeks a change in state law to remedy a now simmering…
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.