{"ok":true,"report":{"slug":"tRbEdhxv","publishedAt":1781495921016,"post":{"text":"I don't understand how Biden hired thousands of IRS agents and none of them were able to uncover the Minnesota fraud.","uri":"https://www.threads.com/@ottocifuentez/post/DZl4-HTm4g9","authorHandle":"ottocifuentez"},"verdict":{"verdict":"Misleading","confidence":85,"summary":"The post conflates unrelated issues and misrepresents both the nature of the IRS hiring and who uncovered the Minnesota fraud. The Minnesota social services fraud (~$9 billion) was uncovered by Minnesota's state Legislative Auditor, not by any federal agency, and IRS agents have actually participated in prosecuting the fraud. Additionally, the claim that Biden hired 'thousands of IRS agents' mischaracterizes the Inflation Reduction Act's IRS funding, which primarily covers customer service, IT, and replacement hires—not enforcement agents.","claims":[{"claim":"Biden hired thousands of IRS agents","assessment":"The Inflation Reduction Act (2022) provided ~$80 billion for the IRS, with projections of ~87,000 new hires over 10 years. However, multiple fact-checks confirm most of these are not enforcement 'agents' but customer service staff, IT workers, and replacements for expected retirements. The framing as 'thousands of IRS agents' is a widely debunked exaggeration.","status":"Misleading"},{"claim":"The Minnesota fraud was not uncovered by IRS agents","assessment":"The massive Minnesota social services fraud (estimated at ~$9 billion) was initially uncovered by Minnesota's Office of the Legislative Auditor (Judy Randall), whose January 2026 report exposed mismanagement and fabricated documentation at the state DHS. However, IRS Criminal Investigation agents have actively participated in prosecuting the fraud—48 defendants have been convicted in the Feeding Our Future scheme alone, with IRS involvement documented in DOJ press releases.","status":"Mixed"},{"claim":"IRS agents should have been able to uncover the Minnesota fraud","assessment":"The Minnesota fraud involved state-administered social services programs (behavioral health grants, autism services, child nutrition). Oversight of these programs falls to state auditors and the Minnesota DHS, not the IRS. The IRS's jurisdiction is federal tax enforcement, not state grant administration. The post's implied premise—that IRS agents are responsible for detecting state-level social services fraud—is incorrect.","status":"Misleading"}],"caveats":"The post is rhetorical rather than a straightforward factual claim, so reasonable people may disagree on how literally to interpret it. The IRS did play a role in prosecuting some of the Minnesota fraud (Feeding Our Future), but the initial discovery was a state-level audit function, not a federal tax enforcement matter.","sources":[{"title":"Ways & Means Republicans Sound Alarm as Minnesota Scandal Unfolds, Call on IRS to Crackdown on Non-Profit Sector","url":"https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2026/01/20/ways-means-republicans-sound-alarm-as-minnesota-scandal-unfolds-call-on-irs-to-crackdown-on-non-profit-sector"},{"title":"Chairman Comer Widens Investigation into Fraud in Minnesota's Social Services Programs","url":"https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-widens-investigation-into-fraud-in-minnesotas-social-services-programs"},{"title":"Treasury, IRS ramp up investigation into Minnesota fraud","url":"https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/treasury-irs-ramp-up-investigation-into-minnesota-fraud"},{"title":"Forty-eighth conviction in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme","url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/forty-eighth-conviction-in-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme"},{"title":"Did Joe Biden hire '85,000 new IRS agents to harass' Americans'?","url":"https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/07/biden-irs-internal-revenue-service-agents-republican-national-convention"},{"title":"Legislative auditor: Minnesota DHS employees backdated, created documentation in behavioral health grant program","url":"https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/legislative-auditor-minnesota-dhs-employees-backdated-created-documentation-in-behavioral-health-grant-program"}]},"communityNote":"Misleading. Minnesota's fraud was found by a state auditor, not the IRS, which handles federal taxes. The Inflation Reduction Act funds mostly customer service and IT staff, not enforcement agents. IRS investigators have actually helped prosecute it.","sourceUrl":"https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/07/biden-irs-internal-revenue-service-agents-republican-national-convention"}}