I'm pretty sure it's an EEO violation to request ID or a photo before hiring.

"Similarly, employers should not ask for a photograph of an applicant. If needed for identification purposes, a photograph may be obtained after an offer of employment is made and accepted."

https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices

Then how do Zoom meetings not violate this law? You’re literally receiving a stream of photos of the applicant before hiring them.

Sue every company and make that your business model

Check out EEOC enforcement actions and settlements, its better than the news

This does not seem relevant when you're already on a video call. The prohibition on requesting photographs is to prevent otherwise unknown information about their race/gender/etc.

fly new hires some place and make them work in person with somebody for a week.

i think remote work is great, but some early face to face can fix a bunch of problems imo.

Pre-Covid I worked in a team that onshored off-shore team members for about six weeks at a time. It worked really well for everyone involved.

File a lien on their house if they do commit fraud.

You need to win a judgement in civil court first and try to collect on it before you can attach a lien to someone’s house in almost any jurisdiction in the US.

Correct? That shouldn't be too hard.

Not hard? Not easy to prove fraud. Is it fraud to have multiple jobs? Did your employment contract specifically restrict moonlighting? Is it even legal to restrict moonlighting in that state? Plus, even if all the moons align and you go through all that effort and money and possibly win. They declare bankruptcy and protect their homestead from your claim. You lose even more money and most importantly your time. Far from easy.