We are months away from knowing whom TIME magazine will select for its 2026 “Person of the Year.” The criterion cited by the magazine’s editors is: “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.” Accordingly, its past covers for “Man of the Year” or “Person of the Year” have included popes as well as brutal dictators, and everyone in between.
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The selectee need not be one person, nor even a human being. The former has included “The Ebola Fighters” (2014); the latter was first highlighted in 1982 when the personal computer, as the “greatest influence for good or evil,” became TIME’s “Machine of the Year.”
We are only three-fourths of the way through 2026, but there is a cancer that runs rampant within American society that warrants consideration for the 2026 cover. It is a contagion of evil influence, the nature of which sadly stems from what was initially intended as an act of generosity, only to be manipulated by the greedy.
What group is most deserving of recognition as 2026’s Person of the Year? The honor should fall to the “The Fraudster”—the person who selfishly taps into funds established to help the needy but who has chosen instead to convert such assets into personal wealth. And, while headlines for doing this have initially been grabbed by Minnesota’s Somali community, the cancer is much more widespread than that.
The Somali community in Minnesota participated in what was that state’s biggest ever fraud scheme. Prosecutors reported $250 million was siphoned off of a federal program to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 era. The mastermind behind the scheme was Aimee Bock, who set the stage for members of the Somali community to join in. Bock led the non-profit organization “Feeding Our Future,” which signed up restaurants and caterers to receive taxpayer money for providing meals for children.
Other than Bock, nearly all those who signed up were East African or Somali. Prosecutors have charged at least 78 defendants, 60 of whom have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial—including Bock. Her convictions were for claiming millions of dollars in compensation for meals that were never delivered, as well as for taking bribes. Meanwhile, the money these defendants received went into funding lavish lifestyles.
Bock’s nonprofit entity grew substantially in just a two year period—from making $3.4 million in claims in 2019 to claims totalling $200 million in 2021. She still maintains her innocence, claiming local officials, including Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar, often visited the meal sites.
But the Somali community is only part of the fraud equation that has been uncovered this year.
There are more than ongoing investigations into possible fraud at USAID, involving billions of dollars. Among these are numerous cases of foreign aid fraud, with diversions to terrorist groups.
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Fraud is also running rampant with Medicare—funding that is critically important to tens of millions of senior Americans. It has become an open market for such fraudsters. Phantom labs, fabricated test orders, and inflated billing codes have combined to fraudulently produce invoices for an estimated $1.6 billion. One company alone, boasting fourteen fake labs, pulled in $24 million. The administration of President Donald Trump has blocked these payments and terminated 157 providers.
Politicians have dirtied their hands too, demonstrating by their greed a serious breach of trust with those who elected them to office. State Representative Francisco Paulino of Massachusetts has been indicted on federal charges alleging she committed COVID-19 era fraud from relief programs netting her more than $700,000. Apparently, unwilling to leave a fellow statesman alone in the fraud game being played is Lawrence, Massachusetts Democrat Mayor Brian DePena, who was arrested for allegedly using $1.5 million in federal funds as a slush fund. Meanwhile, New York City Public Advocate Angela Aquino pleaded guilty to wire fraud by attempting to obtain the city’s matching funds program to collect $1 million.
Bank fraud is becoming popular. Newport Beach financier Mahender Makhijani allegedly falsified title records to pull in nearly $100 million out of a federally-insured bank. Much of the money was spent on jets, supercars, and wild parties.
In Flushing, Queens, two owners of suspiciously vacant adult daycare centers have invoiced Medicaid—since 2018—for $32 million. As their fraud continued, so did their donations to various Democrats, including Governor Kathy Hochul.
Even the daughter of Bill Gates has been exposed in a massive fraud scheme. She allegedly claimed sales were made by her startup company that were not, in an effort to inflate commissions.
Interestingly, while independent journalist Nick Shirley was responsible for uncovering much of the Somali fraud in Minnesota, Democrats have shown no interest in promoting similar investigations. Unbelievably, instead of encouraging such undercover operations to reveal this evil, California has now made exposing it a state crime.
Vice President J. D. Vance is the czar of Trump’s fraud task force. In August 2016, he reported that over $230 billion in fraud has been uncovered since the president took office. Additionally, he revealed that migrant communities have shown a “clear pattern” in committing federal fraud. Unlike the border czar under President Joe Biden who infamously took the title but then did nothing to earn it, Vance has moved quickly to reveal and plug the fraud leaks.
The above is just the tip of the fraud iceberg. Sadly, the human greed factor will always be present, selfishly denying those most in need of special financial assistance their due. While we will never eradicate the fraudsters, we do need to ensure they pay a heavy price for selfishly denying help to those who do. A good way to highlight their evil is to recognize them as Time’s 2026 “Person of the Year.”
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