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Montana Commissioner Fights Fraud and Abuse – UnderDog Report #116

Montana State Commissioner Fights
Fraud and Abuse
UnderDog Report #116

COMMISSIONER JAMES BROWN

Good News About A Politician Doing Good

So much of what is going on in Conservative News today only points out what’s wrong in this country, without providing a real pathway to improvement. It’s like they are just documenting our own demise.  We see little about the good things going or what people are doing. This is exactly what today’s post is about. Too many times politicians are looking out for themselves, lining their own pockets and those who support them, but every now and then you find a politician who is helping the people, and that’s exactly why I want to talk about Montana Securities & Insurance Commissioner James Brown. 

The UnderDog Report first interviewed Commissioner Brown. when he was running for state auditor in 2024 (Click Here); and again in 2025 after he was in office (Click Here).

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 “I Feel Good”

Commissioner Brown takes his cues from the singer James Brown when he says “I Feel Good.“ The reason is because he is back on The UnderDog Report again, and he is “killing it” as Commissioner in Montana. He also wants the citizens of Montana to “Feel Good” because of what he has accomplished for them.  It’s been a great year in terms of good government and protecting the public; and other states need to take notice, take action, “Feel Good” also.

Bad Guys, What Ya Gonna Do, What Ya Gonna Do When They Come For You?

Glenn Beck Interviews Montana Commissioner BrownCommissioner Brown is rooting out fraud and prosecuting bad guys in Montana. Their website is located at  CSIMT.gov, and provides information about Brown’s work protecting the citizens of Montana.

If your State needs help in understanding how to stop the bad guys in your area, contact Commission Brown for his advice regarding Securities or Insurance fraud issues. Here is a list of just five things he has uncovered.

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1. Rampant ObamaCare Fraud

James was recently on Glen Beck’s Show and received over 9 million views on his interview about ObamaCare Fraud.  Commissioner Brown exposed a $54.7M Obamacare fraud scheme in his state. These fraudsters were actually talking vulnerable patients suffering from alcohol and drugs addictions, and other issues across state lines under the ruse to treat them. Technically that is “Human Trafficking.”

They promised to fly them to Southern California or Arizona to stay at a beautiful treatment center and receive free drug and alcohol treatment. Under Obamacare, this treatment is provided at $9,000 a day per person for 90 days, or $810,000 per person! In order to accomplish this, they had to transport patients across state lines. They even send recruiters to the reservations to “sell” this solution. It sounded good, but many times they would simply dump the patients in the other state and provide no services.  This added up to almost $55 million in fraud that has since been stopped.
But unlike the leadership of Minnesota, who are still tangled in the web of the Somali fraud case, Montana has taken strong, decisive action by cancelling 80 of these fraudulent policies right away in partnership with the Trump administration– recovering $23.3 million of stolen funds. Other States should be well aware of this fraud and make every effort to stop it.

2. Denying $21.6 Million In Unjustified Insurance Increases

Brown Denies $21.6 Million In Unjustified Insurance IncreasesMost states just “willy nilly” allow their Insurance carriers to increase their rates whenever they want. There is little to no oversight on this matter, but this is not the case in Montana.
Commissioner Brown identified unjustified rate increases to Montana consumers that they denied. The Commissioner of Insurance’s job is to protect their citizens, so in 2025,  they denied about $22 million in unjustified rate increases on Montana citizens.
The Commissioner of Insurance is not only rooting out fraud, but also protecting Montanans from having their policies become unaffordable. This is holding insurance companies accountable, and it does not appear that other states are as aggressive as he is.
Brown made a promise when he ran for this office that he would answer directly to the people of the state, focusing on protecting consumers, not pleasing insurance companies or donors.

 3. Crypto ATM Fraud on the Rise Nationally

A Bitcoin ATM at a gas station in Kalispell on Oct. 21, 2025. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconEverybody’s talking about crypto, but there’s also a lot of fraudsters out there. The FBI just released a report estimating American citizens were subject to $333 million in fraud through these Bitcoin ATM machines in 2025.
Crypto fraud has been sprouting up all over the place, including Montana, especially with the Bitcoin ATM machines in, convenience stores or supermarkets.  The FBI estimates,  80% of all Bitcoin ATM machines transactions are fraudulent.
James is  doing two things to combat this in Montana:

1. Educating the public not to use these Bitcoin ATMs, because they’re the source for fraud.
2. Talking to the business owners that house these Bitcoin ATMs to let them know the machines are being used for fraudulent purposes, and they’re at risk for being involved in a conspiracy to commit fraud. They very well might be criminally liable.

Bitcoin ATM is the number one source of fraud against Montanans, different from even two years ago. This digital currency fraud is just exploding in Montana.

4. A Bill In Congress to ‘Screw the Little Guy’

Crypto bill seen hindering fraud prosecutions, states warn October 7, 2025 Olga Kharif | Bloomberg October 3, 2025What if I told you the “Little Guy” would be anyone defrauded for up to $15 Million? Congress is considering several bills that would prevent Commissioner Brown’s state authority and others states to prosecute bad actors in the digital currency space who committed fraud up to that amount. Federal legislation would limit the ability for smaller players to receive claims. By “smaller,” that could be anyone who has a claim for under $15 Million. So the person ripped off for $14 Million will have no recourse to have their state prosecute the one(s) who defrauded them. This legislation hurts the smaller investor while protecting only large investors.
The concern is that Congress would provide a boon only to the big guys to engage in this digital currency space, while providing a great risk for the little guys who may be the victim of fraud. This would result in fraudsters concentrating on the little guys, because they know there’s no risk for them to be prosecuted.

5. Lawsuit Filed Against Blue Cross and Blue Shield Over Montana Data Breach

Lawsuit Filed Against Blue Cross Blue Shield Over Montana Data Breach November 4, 2025 Lauren Giella | Newsweek October 24, 2025Blue Cross and Blue Shield had a gigantic data breach exposing 1/3 of Montana citizens’ personal medical records. There are 1.1 million citizens in Montana, and the data breach compromised the records of 480,000 Montanans, now in the hands of bad guys.

Most concerning is that the breach happened between, October 2024 through January 2025, and they did not report this for over a year later, and only after Commission Brown opened the investigation.
Even worse, his agency and he, as its head, have been sued by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana to stop his investigation. It’s literally before a judge pending a ruling from the judges as to whether they can even proceed.
As you know, this not only happened in Montana, but in all 50 states, and every state should be filing a class action suit. You can contact Commissioner Brown for help if you need it.
Commissioner Brown pledged to protect the people of Montana. His colleagues in comparable positions in other states should be looking at what he’s doing in Montana and following it. He is setting the tone in this country and adopting and enforcing strict codes of conduct for his staff.