President Trump issued comprehensive federal pardons to 77 individuals involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including his former attorney Rudy Giuliani, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, Jeffrey …
Donald TrumpRudy GiulianiMark MeadowsSidney PowellJohn Eastman+12 morepardons2020-electionaccountabilityfake-electorsinstitutional-capture+4 more
The Trump administration established a pattern of targeting political adversaries through the Federal Housing Finance Agency with mortgage fraud investigations. Beyond Letitia James’s indictment, the pattern includes investigations against Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Senator Adam Schiff, all …
OMB Director Russ Vought systematically used government shutdown planning to execute mass federal purges, cancel funding, block oversight, and reclassify workers across agencies according to the Project 2025 framework. This represents a deliberate conversion of the Office of Management and Budget …
Russ VoughtOffice of Management and Budget (OMB)Trump AdministrationCongressinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruptionexecutive-overreachproject-2025-implementation
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced plans to extract government equity stakes from major corporations like Intel and Lockheed Martin in exchange for federal support, using tariffs and export licenses as pressure tools through a secretive ‘Investment Accelerator’ initiative. …
Howard LutnickDepartment of CommerceIntelLockheed MartinTrump Administrationinstitutional-capturecorporate-coercionregulatory-extortionsystematic-corruption
Former DOJ antitrust official Roger Alford publicly accused Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle of ‘perverting justice’ by overruling career officials to approve the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks $14 billion merger. Alford and another senior …
Roger AlfordPam BondiChad MizelleHewlett Packard EnterpriseJuniper Networks+1 moreinstitutional-capturedojsystematic-corruptionantitrust
President Trump signed Executive Order 14332 titled ‘Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking,’ transforming the federal grantmaking process by giving presidential political appointees unprecedented power over billions of dollars in research and discretionary grants. The order requires …
Donald TrumpWhite HouseOffice of Management and Budget (OMB)executive-powerexecutive-ordersinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruption
On July 24, 2025, UnitedHealth Group confirmed in an SEC filing that the Department of Justice has launched both criminal and civil investigations into the company’s Medicare Advantage billing practices, focusing on systematic upcoding fraud that may have generated billions in government …
UnitedHealth GroupUnitedHealthcareDepartment of JusticeCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Serviceshealthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudregulatory-capturesystematic-corruption
On May 1, 2025, the Department of Justice filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against three of the nation’s largest health insurance companies—Aetna (CVS Health), Humana, and Elevance Health (formerly Anthem)—along with three major insurance brokers—eHealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote. The …
Department of JusticeAetnaCVS HealthHumanaElevance Health+4 morehealthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudsystematic-corruptionwhistleblower+1 more
In 2024, the healthcare sector spent $743.9 million on federal lobbying—$10 million less than 2023’s $745 million but maintaining its position as the largest lobbying sector in the United States for the 26th consecutive year. Pharmaceutical and health products companies led healthcare spending …
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaAmerican Medical AssociationAmerican Hospital AssociationPharmaceutical Care Management AssociationHealth insurance industry+1 morelobbyinghealthcarepharmaceutical-industrysystematic-corruptionregulatory-capture+1 more
On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. The assassination, allegedly carried out by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, exposed widespread public anger at the American health insurance industry’s systematic …
Brian ThompsonLuigi MangioneUnitedHealthcareUnitedHealth Grouphealthcareinsurance-fraudsystematic-corruptionhealthcare-violence
On October 31, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report estimating that Medicare Advantage insurers received at least $7.5 billion in improper payments in 2023 from Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) that added diagnoses to inflate risk scores …
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector GeneralCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMedicare Advantage insurershealthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudsystematic-corruptionregulatory-capture
On August 16, 2024, Humana agreed to pay $90 million to settle the first whistleblower lawsuit alleging systematic fraud in Medicare Part D prescription drug program bidding. The case exposed how Humana maintained “two sets of books”—submitting false financial projections to the Centers …
HumanaCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDepartment of JusticeSteven Scott (whistleblower)healthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudsystematic-corruptionwhistleblower
DaVita Inc. agrees to pay $34,487,390 to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving three distinct kickback schemes: paying a competitor to induce referrals to DaVita Rx pharmacy subsidiary in exchange for acquiring European dialysis clinics and extending dialysis product purchases; providing …
DaVitaDennis KogodDepartment of JusticeDaVita Rxhealthcaredialysismedicare-fraudkickbackswhistleblower+2 more
Comprehensive research reveals a systematic corruption pattern in Hurricane Katrina’s education system transformation. Academic studies and journalistic investigations document how disaster was strategically used to rapidly privatize New Orleans public schools. Before Katrina, the school …
Louisiana State LegislatureCharter School AdvocatesRight-Wing Think TanksNew Orleans School Boardsystematic-corruptioninstitutional-captureeducation-privatizationcharter-schoolsregulatory-capture
On February 27, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice launched a major antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, focusing on whether the company’s vertical integration strategy—particularly Optum’s acquisition of physician practices—creates …
Department of JusticeUnitedHealth GroupUnitedHealthcareOptumhealthcaremedicare-advantageantitrustvertical-integrationregulatory-capture+1 more
On November 14, 2023, the families of two deceased Medicare Advantage beneficiaries filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging that UnitedHealth Group knowingly uses a faulty artificial intelligence algorithm with a 90% error rate to systematically deny elderly patients coverage for medically …
UnitedHealth GroupNaviHealthUnitedHealthcarehealthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudartificial-intelligencesystematic-corruption+1 more
On August 8, 2023, massive wildfires rage through Lahaina in West Maui, killing at least 100 people in the deadliest wildfire event in the United States in more than a century. The fires destroy thousands of homes and businesses in the historic town, reducing what was once a vibrant wetland …
Josh GreenWest Maui Land CompanyGlenn TrembleKaleo ManuelCommission on Water Resource Management (CWRM)+2 moreinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruptionindigenous-rightsenvironmental-destructiondisaster-capitalism+2 more
On March 13, 2023, ProPublica published an investigation revealing that health insurance giant Cigna used an automated system called PXDX to deny 300,000 claims over two months without doctors examining individual patient files—spending an average of just 1.2 seconds reviewing each case before …
CignaProPublicaHouse Committee on Energy and Commercehealthcareinsurance-fraudsystematic-corruptioninvestigative-journalism
After mineral owners present evidence to the North Dakota Legislature that oil companies are deducting approximately $1 billion annually in royalty payments without adequate oversight or transparency, lawmakers reject bipartisan legislation requiring companies to provide electronic payment details …
North Dakota LegislatureBrad BekkedahlDon LongmuirRon NessXTO Energy+3 moreregulatory-capturecorporate-corruptionoil-industrylegislative-failuremineral-rights+2 more
National Bureau of Economic Research releases landmark study (Working Paper 28474) analyzing patient-level Medicare data from 18,000 nursing facilities over 17 years, finding that private equity ownership increases patient mortality by 10% compared to other nursing homes. The 10% mortality increase …
National Bureau of Economic ResearchPrivate equity firmsCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Serviceshealthcarenursing-homeprivate-equitypatient-harmmortality+2 more
The Paycheck Protection Program launched with $800 billion in forgivable loans to support small businesses during COVID-19, but rushed implementation with minimal verification created “the biggest fraud in a generation.” SBA Inspector General estimates $200+ billion in fraudulent loans - …
Small Business AdministrationTreasury DepartmentCongressfraudcorruptionsystematic-corruptionregulatory-failurewealth-inequality
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos formally repealed the Obama Administration’s Gainful Employment Rule on July 1, 2019, eliminating the only federal accountability mechanism that measured whether career training programs at for-profit colleges and non-degree programs at all institutions …
Betsy DeVosU.S. Department of EducationRobert EitelJulian Schmoke Jr.For-Profit College Industry+1 morefor-profit-educationderegulationregulatory-capturerevolving-doorstudent-debt+2 more
President Donald Trump explicitly declares blanket resistance to congressional oversight, stating “We’re fighting all the subpoenas” and dismissing House Democrats as not “impartial people.” This systematic escalation represents an unprecedented challenge to legislative …
Donald TrumpWhite HouseHouse DemocratsCongressional InvestigatorsDon McGahn+2 moretrump-administrationcongressional-obstructionsubpoena-defianceconstitutional-crisissystematic-corruption+2 more
In 2016, a whistleblower who had worked for 12 years at the American Kidney Fund filed a lawsuit alleging that dialysis giants DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care—which together control over 80 percent of the $24.7 billion U.S. dialysis market—operated a years-long kickback scheme where they donated …
DaVitaFresenius Medical CareAmerican Kidney FundDepartment of JusticeFederal Trade Commissionhealthcaredialysissystematic-corruptionmonopolykickbacks+3 more
Johns Hopkins researchers published findings demonstrating that pharmaceutical companies were systematically gaming the 1983 Orphan Drug Act by obtaining orphan drug designations—intended for treatments of rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—for blockbuster drugs generating billions …
Johns Hopkins UniversityFDAAbbVieRocheJohnson & Johnson+4 morepharmaceutical-industryregulatory-capturetax-avoidancedrug-pricinghealthcare+2 more
The United States Department of Justice and attorneys general from 38 states and the District of Columbia reached a landmark $95.5 million settlement with Education Management Corporation (EDMC) on November 16, 2015, resolving allegations that the nation’s second-largest for-profit education …
Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ October 2015 disclosure of its relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor Rx Services triggered the unraveling of a systematic drug price gouging scheme that had raised prices on dozens of medications by 50-3000% over two years. Under CEO Michael Pearson, Valeant …
Valeant PharmaceuticalsJ. Michael PearsonPhilidor Rx ServicesWilliam AckmanSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)+2 morepharmaceutical-industrydrug-pricinghealthcarecorporate-fraudsystematic-corruption+1 more
DaVita Healthcare Partners agrees to pay $450 million (ultimately $495 million) to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it knowingly created unnecessary waste in administering dialysis drugs Zemplar and Venofer, then fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid for the avoidable waste. …
DaVitaKent ThiryAlon J. VainerDaniel D. BarbirDepartment of Justicehealthcaredialysismedicare-fraudwhistleblowerpatient-harm+1 more
Corinthian Colleges Inc., one of the largest for-profit college chains in the United States operating Everest College, Heald College, and WyoTech brands, announced on April 26, 2015, that it would immediately cease operations at all remaining campuses, abruptly closing 28 ground locations and …
Corinthian CollegesEverest CollegeHeald CollegeWyoTechU.S. Department of Education+2 morefor-profit-educationfraudcollege-closurestudent-debtpredatory-lending+2 more
DaVita Healthcare Partners, the nation’s second-largest dialysis provider, agrees to pay $350 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to physicians to induce patient referrals to its dialysis clinics from 2005-2014. The scheme involved DaVita offering …
DaVitaKent ThiryDepartment of JusticeHHS Office of Inspector Generalhealthcaredialysismedicare-fraudkickbacksregulatory-capture+2 more
The University of Phoenix and its parent company Apollo Group agreed to pay $78.5 million on December 14, 2009, to resolve allegations that the nation’s largest for-profit university violated the False Claims Act by illegally paying recruiters based on the number of students they enrolled, …
University of PhoenixApollo GroupMary HendowJulie AlbertsonU.S. Department of Justice+1 morefor-profit-educationfraudfalse-claims-actstudent-loanswhistleblower+3 more
On October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) into law as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP legislation), requiring health insurers to provide mental health and substance use …
George W. BushPaul WellstonePete DomeniciDepartment of LaborEmployee Benefits Security Administration+1 morehealthcaremental-healthinsurance-fraudregulatory-captureenforcement-failure+2 more
Congress passes the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution based on the systematically manipulated intelligence provided by the White House Iraq Group, representing the successful completion of WHIG’s campaign to corrupt legislative war powers. The House votes 296-133 …
White House Iraq GroupU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. SenateHillary ClintonJohn Kerry+6 morewhigiraq-war-authorizationcongressional-deceptionconstitutional-crisisseparation-of-powers+3 more
The average price of insulin in the United States began a decade-long tripling from $231 per patient annually in 2002 to $762 in 2013, according to congressional hearing data—with some patients paying up to $900 per month for insulin products that cost $4.34 per milliliter in 2002 but reached $12.92 …
Eli LillyNovo NordiskSanofiCongressional Diabetes CaucusBig Pharmapharmaceutical-industrydrug-pricinghealthcaremonopolyinsulin-crisis+1 more
Boris Yeltsin won re-election as President of Russia in a stunning comeback victory engineered and bankrolled by a coalition of seven oligarchs who became known as the ‘Semibankirshchina’ (seven-banker outfit). Despite approval ratings below 10% earlier in the year, Yeltsin defeated …
Boris YeltsinBoris BerezovskyMikhail KhodorkovskyVladimir GusinskyVladimir Potanin+3 morerussiaoligarchssemibankirshchinaelectionsyeltsin+4 more
The Russian government under President Boris Yeltsin implemented the ’loans-for-shares’ privatization scheme between November and December 1995, auctioning twelve of Russia’s most profitable industrial enterprises—including mining, steel, shipping, and oil companies—to a small …
Boris YeltsinVladimir PotaninMikhail KhodorkovskyBoris BerezovskyRoman Abramovich+3 morerussiaoligarchsloans-for-sharesprivatizationcorruption+5 more
Russia launched the world’s largest privatization program, distributing vouchers worth 10,000 rubles each to approximately 148 million citizens, enabling the privatization of over 15,000 medium and large enterprises. The program was designed and implemented by Anatoly Chubais, chairman of the …
Anatoly ChubaisBoris YeltsinState Committee for State Property ManagementRussian Governmentrussiaprivatizationshock-therapyoligarchswealth-transfer+4 more
Congress begins investigating whether HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce engaged in mismanagement and abuse of resources during his eight-year tenure under Reagan, uncovering that the department became a center of influence peddling and favoritism toward Pierce’s friends and political allies. During …
Samuel PierceDeborah Gore DeanJames WattThomas DemeryU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developmentinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruptionhousing-policyrevolving-door
Five U.S. Senators—Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald Riegle (D-MI)—meet with Federal Home Loan Bank Board officials to pressure them to halt regulatory investigation of Charles Keating’s Lincoln Savings and Loan. The senators had …
Alan CranstonDennis DeConciniJohn GlennJohn McCainDonald Riegle+3 morekeating-fiveregulatory-capturecampaign-contributionslincoln-savingssystematic-corruption+1 more
Ronald Reagan’s inauguration marked the beginning of the most consequential transformation in American antitrust policy since the Sherman Act of 1890—an eight-year systematic dismantlement of competition enforcement that would enable four decades of corporate consolidation and monopolization. …
Ronald ReaganWilliam F. BaxterDouglas GinsburgRobert BorkFrank Easterbrook+3 moreantitrustregulatory-capturechicago-schoolreagan-administrationenforcement-collapse+2 more
The Business Roundtable, representing Fortune 500 CEOs, coordinated the first systematic corporate PAC strategy for the 1978 midterm elections. Corporate PACs contributed $9.8 million to federal candidates, with 75% going to business-friendly Republicans. This marked the beginning of coordinated …
Business RoundtableReginald JonesCorporate PAC CommitteeRepublican Partybusiness-roundtablecorporate-coordinationelectoral-interferencesystematic-corruption
Following the Buckley v. Valeo decision, corporations rapidly established Political Action Committees to influence elections. The number of corporate PACs grew from 89 in 1974 to 1,206 by 1980 - a 1,254% increase. This represented a systematic corporate mobilization to capture political influence, …
Corporate AmericaBusiness RoundtableChamber of CommerceFECcorporate-pacscampaign-financesystematic-corruptioninstitutional-capture
The Selective Service System conducts its first draft lottery since 1942 at its Washington D.C. headquarters in response to widespread criticism that the draft systematically favors wealthy and educated Americans. Of the 2.5 million enlisted men serving in Vietnam, 80% come from poor or …
Selective Service SystemU.S. CongressCongressman Alexander Pirnieclass-inequalityinstitutional-corruptiongovernment-deceptionsystematic-corruption
The term “credibility gap” enters widespread use to describe the growing disconnect between the Johnson administration’s optimistic public statements about Vietnam War progress and the grim reality experienced by soldiers and reporters in the field. The New York Herald Tribune …
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamaraPresident Lyndon B. JohnsonSenator J. William FulbrightDepartment of Defensegovernment-deceptionmilitary-industrial-complexinstitutional-corruptionpropagandasystematic-corruption
A sophisticated anti-communist network coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and Chamber of Commerce reaches peak effectiveness in suppressing labor organizing during the early Cold War. The Hagley Museum and Library’s NAM collection contains extensive materials from …
National Association of ManufacturersChamber of CommerceAmerican LegionJ.B. MatthewsHearst Corporation+1 moreanti-communismlabor-suppressioncorporate-propagandared-scareunion-busting+1 more
The House Armed Services Committee exonerates Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington of corruption charges related to the B-36 bomber contract, despite Johnson’s recent service on Convair Corporation’s board of directors. An anonymous document …
Louis JohnsonConvair CorporationHouse Armed Services CommitteeCarl VinsonStuart Symington+1 moremilitary-industrial-complexrevolving-doorconflict-of-interestdefense-contractssystematic-corruption+1 more
Levittown, regarded as America’s first modern planned suburb, opens on Long Island to accommodate returning World War II veterans with “Clause 25” in housing agreements explicitly forbidding homes “from being used or occupied by any person other than members of the Caucasian …
William LevittLevitt & SonsFederal Housing AdministrationVeterans Administrationinstitutional-captureracial-oppressionhousing-policysystematic-corruption
The Federal Housing Administration publishes its Underwriting Manual, which establishes formal mortgage lending requirements that institutionalize racism and segregation within the housing industry. The manual emphasizes the negative impact of “infiltration of inharmonious racial groups” …
Federal Housing AdministrationU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developmentinstitutional-captureracial-oppressionhousing-policysystematic-corruption
The National Housing Act creates the Federal Housing Administration, which immediately implements systematic racial discrimination through mortgage underwriting guidelines. From its first operations in 1934, FHA staff conclude that no loan could be economically sound if the property was located in a …
Federal Housing AdministrationFederal Home Loan Bank BoardU.S. Chamber of Commerceinstitutional-captureracial-oppressionhousing-policysystematic-corruption
Investment trusts reached peak popularity and systemic danger by selling at premiums higher than underlying stock values while creating complex pyramids of cross-ownership and hidden leverage. These 1929 equivalents of closed-end mutual funds bought stock on margin with funds loaned not by banks but …