Senator proposes bill to bar relatives of fraudsters from federal aid after $18M COVID scam

Senator Joni Ernst, chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, unveiled the No Cash for Cohabitating Kins of Crooks Act, a proposal that would deny federal aid to anyone co-habiting with a convicted fraudster, except where spouses live apart or domestic-abuse victims are involved. The bill was sparked by a California family—Richard Ayvazyan, Marietta Terabelian, sister-in-law Tamara Dadyan and her husband Artur Ayvazyan—who siphoned $18 million in COVID-19 relief using stolen identities and were sentenced after being arrested in Montenegro.

Ernst’s monthly “Squeal Award” list also cited the Minnesota Feeding Our Future scheme, a Florida ministry fraud of $6 million, four grandmothers who obtained $11.5 million in farm aid, and a Washington family that cheated the VA of $1.1 million. She estimates these 15 “fraudster families” have stolen roughly $50 million. The legislation seeks to stop similar family-based scams from draining taxpayer-funded programs.