FIRST ON FOX: Rep. James Gallagher, R-Calif., urged FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday to crack down on illegal marijuana cultivation operations in Northern California.

Gallagher sent the letter after the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported extensive illegal cultivation and illegal immigrant labor in the region. The congressman said the operations have harmed local ranchers, depleted groundwater supplies and raised concerns about potential financing from Chinese organized-crime networks.

"Entire rural properties are now covered with rows of makeshift, plastic-covered greenhouses, known as ‘hoop houses,’ where marijuana is cultivated using groundwater hauled in from nearby wells," Gallagher wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. 

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"The consequences have been devastating, with residents facing depleted water supplies and threats to their safety, while local farmers and ranchers contend with increased competition for groundwater and the risk of contamination to their agricultural land," he continued.

The letter cited estimates of as many as 7,000 illegal growers in the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision alone. Gallagher said illegal cultivation has also expanded onto federal lands, including the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

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In 2025, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported eradicating 332,871 illegal marijuana plants and seizing 54,070 pounds of processed marijuana.

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Gallagher also raised concerns that Chinese organized-crime networks could be financing or directing some of the operations.

"In Siskiyou County, investigators have traced cultivation properties to individuals residing outside the county, while those managing the grows often have no apparent ownership interest," Gallagher wrote. "These arrangements raise serious concerns about who is actually financing and controlling these operations and whether the ownership arrangements are intended to conceal their involvement."

Gallagher pointed to a 2018 federal investigation in California involving an illegal marijuana growing operation that authorities said was funded with money from China. The investigation led to federal forfeiture actions involving more than 100 properties in the Sacramento area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

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The congressman also cited environmental damage linked to the illegal grow sites, including the use of toxic pesticides.

"Compounding these concerns is the widespread use of highly toxic pesticides, including chemicals banned in the United States and products bearing Chinese-language labels that are suspected of being illegally imported," Gallagher wrote.

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Siskiyou County investigators have identified at least 27 pesticide compounds at illegal grow sites, according to county findings. Officials have warned that the chemicals could pose risks to residents, law enforcement officers and first responders.

EXCLUSIVE - President Donald Trump is putting cash behind his crackdown on taxpayer fraud, offering Americans rewards for tips that help bring fraudsters to justice.

Speaking alongside Vice President JD Vance and independent journalist Nick Shirley in the Oval Office, Trump unveiled the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program and said qualifying tipsters would receive a 1% commission, subject to applicable laws and rules.

"If you turn somebody in and you, let's say report, and you find $1 billion, we are giving a commission to that person of 1%," Trump said.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported plans for the program ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. A White House official initially described a $25 million initiative administered by the Justice Department, with rewards of up to $30,000 for tips leading to a successful fraud conviction or significant federal enforcement action.

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Trump’s remarks outlined a different payout structure. He said journalists could also participate, subject to applicable rules and approval from their employers.

Americans can report suspected theft of taxpayer dollars through fraud.gov, Trump said.

The president also said he would personally settle disputes over who deserves a reward, describing a process in which he would determine whether competing tipsters should split a payment.

"I'll make that determination. It'll be done expeditiously and fairly," Trump said.

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Vance said the initiative grew out of a conversation with Trump about recruiting Americans to help investigators uncover fraud.

"If you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards," Vance said.

Shirley drew national attention in December 2025 after publishing a video questioning whether several Somali-run Minnesota daycare centers were operating as legitimate businesses. His video showed apparently empty facilities and included people who said they had not seen children at the locations.

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The White House credited Shirley’s reporting with helping spur a surge of FBI and Department of Homeland Security resources into Minnesota, followed by investigations, arrests and new charges.

One facility featured in Shirley’s video was Future Leaders Early Learning Center, whose former CEO, Fahima Egeh Mahamud, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

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Prosecutors said Mahamud stole more than $4.6 million through false child care assistance claims and $850,000 through a federal child nutrition program connected to the Feeding Our Future scandal.

Shirley previously pointed to Mahamud’s guilty plea as vindication of his reporting amid efforts to discredit his investigations.

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"Well, numbers don't lie, and convictions don't lie either," he previously told Fox News Digital.

Trump praised the independent journalist’s work, telling him, "He's done an amazing job."

Shirley said his reporting had drawn threats and scrutiny of him rather than the suspected wrongdoing he sought to expose.

"Instead of the mainstream media investigating the fraud they investigated me," Shirley said.

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The reward initiative adds a public tip incentive to the administration’s broader campaign against fraud in federal benefits programs.

Trump established the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in March, with Vance serving as chairman. The executive order directed the group to coordinate efforts across federal agencies to uncover fraud, strengthen eligibility checks and prevent improper payments.

Under the new program, submitting an allegation alone would not qualify someone for a reward. The tip must lead to a successful fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action, according to the White House official.

"Every day, President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars and giving Americans the accountability they deserve. This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

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The event also brought a separate announcement from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, who said the administration was deferring another $1.2 billion in California Medicaid payments directed toward personal care services.

Oz cited questions about the program’s spending growth and said tips from people inside businesses can help investigators identify wrongdoing.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the task force’s vice chairman, also called for Congress to impose mandatory minimum prison terms for benefits fraud and civil liability for state officials who fail to stop fraud they could have prevented.

Fox News Digital's David Unsworth contributed to this report.

Authorities have said the attack was thwarted by FBI agents after they monitored the 18-year-old for nearly two years and ultimately supplied him with the AK-47 he planned to use.