Doug Burns to Newsmax: Fraud Against US Government Goes 'On and On'

Fraud against the U.S. government is far more pervasive than many Americans realize, former federal prosecutor Doug Burns said on Newsmax, Sunday.

And stopping it will require more enforcement resources, even as the issue gets pulled into partisan fights, he added.

"Politics and law are not good bedfellows," Burns told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend," adding that as a prosecutor, he's seen fraud cases stretch across multiple programs and industries, including in unemployment, healthcare, and "the biggest one of all, disability fraud."

Burns' comments came in response to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reference to a Government Accountability Office estimate that annual fraud totals between $300 billion and $600 billion, about 10% of government spending.

Burns said the fix is not complicated, but that it becomes politically contentious when pushed by President Donald Trump.

"The solution is better resources, better enforcement, but then comes the political translation," he said. "If Donald Trump says, Let's put more resources, that's bad; that's horrible. He's bad. He's horrible.

"Same old story. We see the same play every night."

Former New York Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, also on the segment, said lax oversight effectively invites abuse and that fraud raises costs for everyday Americans, including families who legitimately need assistance.

"Well, you're absolutely right," D'Esposito said. "Part of the problem has become is that too many so-called leaders throughout this country try to say that compassion is more important than actually following the law, and that's how they really try to get away with it."

He said fraud ultimately harms taxpayers and drains support from vulnerable groups.

"What we need to remind everyone is that fraud in America isn't victimless," D'Esposito said. "It's a hidden tax on every family. It drives up prices, it inflates insurance costs, and it steals resources from workers who actually need help."

D'Esposito said it also "steals resources from our most vulnerable population," including people with special needs, children, seniors, and those who are injured or sick.

He said the broader consequence is that unchecked fraud can erode confidence in institutions.

"When fraud goes unchecked, as it has in many of these states, taxpayers pay more and trust in government collapses, and that's why enforcement isn't optional; it's essential," he added.

In his current role as inspector general for the U.S. Department of Labor, D'Esposito said he plans to announce a new task force, describing it as an effort to add manpower and focus in jurisdictions he described as problem areas.

"That's why next week, or right in the beginning of the week after, I'm going to be heading to Minnesota to announce a new task force with others and federal agents and putting more resources on the ground in places like Minnesota, in Chicago, in California," he said.

He said enforcement must apply across categories of suspected abuse.

"Because whether it's unemployment fraud or any of these social programs that's taking away from Americans, they need to be enforced," D'Esposito said. "They need to be checked, and we need to start making changes."

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