Sunday Talk: Ernst on the Shady Bunch

 U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced her August Squeal Award recipient: fraudster families who make a living scamming hardworking Americans.

Ernst is exposing 15 families who collectively stole $50 million taxpayer dollars and has introduced the No Cash for Cohabitating Kins of Crooks Act to prohibit government loans, contracts, grants, or other financial payments going to anyone living with a known fraudster or convicted criminal.

“Committing fraud is literally all relative for these families of felons,” said Ernst. “While some families have a tradition of running 5Ks on holidays, fraud runs in these families—they’ll steal $5K or more and then make a run for it. My latest investigation found schemes sprouting from family trees across the country, with kin teaming up to rip off taxpayers to the tune of $50 million. That’s why I’m giving my August 2026 Squeal Award to the ‘Shady Bunch,’ families full of fraudsters who are chips off the old cell block. Their next scamily reunion will be in the slammer.”

Some of the most egregious examples include:

• The now-infamous Mohamed family operating out of Minnesota stole more than $10 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program. Instead of feeding hungry kids, the family of felons spent the money on themselves.
• One California clan of crooks made off with $18 million in COVID relief, using fake names and stolen identities to obtain taxpayer money that funded luxury homes, gold coins, diamonds, designer goods and even a Harley-Davidson. After their convictions, several family members cut off their tracking devices and fled the country before eventually being caught.
• Four sisters fleeced the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of more than $11.5 million by submitting nearly 200 bogus discrimination claims from fake farmers. The daughter of one sister helped the scheme by notarizing fictitious witness statements.
• A Florida family used a sham ministry to obtain more than $8 million in pandemic aid, then attempted to use the money to buy a multi-million-mansion at Walt Disney World Resort. When authorities closed in, the family was caught in a Mercedes SUV packed with bags of shredded documents.