There is a simple principle I’ve learned in both business and government: people behave differently when they know the boss is paying attention.
When there is little oversight, weak verification, and no accountability, waste grows, fraud becomes easier, and taxpayers pay the price.
That’s exactly what’s happening across Massachusetts today.
A Fiscal Alliance Foundation report found that Massachusetts leads New England in SNAP spending, accounts for nearly 60 percent of all SNAP spending in the region, and now faces the possibility of taxpayers paying as much as $300 million annually because of one of the highest payment error rates in the country.
The Healey administration’s response has been predictable: hire more employees and hope the problem goes away.
That’s not leadership. That’s treating the symptom instead of fixing the cause.
I’ve seen what actually works.
When Gov. Charlie…
CLICK HERE to read the FULL Shortsleeve: SNAP waste, fraud has to stop – Boston Herald article.
THE HASHFLARE “CLOUD MINING” PONZI SCHEME (GLOBAL/ESTONIA)
Date: February 13, 2025 (Guilty Pleas) Perpetrators: Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin
Case Description: This $577 million cryptocurrency fraud remains one of the largest digital asset scams in history, with major legal developments concluding in 2025. Potapenko and Turogin operated “Hashflare,” which they marketed as a massive cryptocurrency mining operation. Hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide purchased “mining contracts,” believing they were renting hash power to mine Bitcoin. In reality, the duo was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme.
They created fake customer dashboards that showed “real-time” mining profits, but the money being paid out was simply the capital of newer investors. They laundered the proceeds through shell companies to purchase luxury real estate and a fleet of high-end vehicles. After a massive international investigation involving the FBI and Estonian authorities, the pair agreed to forfeit over $400 million in assets. This case underscores the “Cyber-enabled Fraud” warning issued by the FATF in early 2026: as technology evolves, the scale of fraud moves from local millions to global billions in the blink of an eye.
Link to Original: ACFE – High Profile Fraud of 2025