The Justice Department has stepped up enforcement with multiple arrests and prosecutions targeting large-scale government benefit fraud across the country. Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts recently charged 15 people in a sweeping takedown of an identity fraud ring.

The alleged schemes used stolen identities to divert more than $1.4 million in food stamps, MassHealth, Social Security, unemployment, and housing assistance. Similar cases have exploited more than 100 stolen identities across state lines — some even claiming benefits in the name of deceased recipients. These operations are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a systemic failure.