New Assistant Attorney General Position to Tackle Fraud

Vice President J.D. Vance has announced a new assistant attorney general role within the Department of Justice aimed at fighting fraud impacting federal programs. Initially, efforts will be concentrated in Minnesota, eventually extending to other states where similar fraud cases are believed to exist.

During a press conference at the White House, Vance stated the following:

“We will create a new Assistant Attorney General position with national jurisdiction over fraud matters. That person’s efforts will primarily begin and be focused in Minnesota, but unfortunately, the American people have been deceived in a very national way, so it will be a national effort.”

The White House has outlined that the new National Fraud Enforcement Division will enforce federal laws against fraud related to federally funded programs, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals. The appointed assistant attorney general will lead investigations, handle prosecutions, coordinate interagency fraud responses, and provide guidance on policy reforms to tackle systemic misconduct.

The administration has already put significant federal resources into combatting widespread fraud, especially in Minnesota. The Department of Justice has indicted 98 individuals in fraud-related cases across the state—85 of whom are of Somali descent—and secured convictions for 64 of them. They’ve issued over 1,750 subpoenas, executed more than 130 search warrants, and conducted around 1,000 witness interviews.

Mr. Vance explained the broader implications of fraud, particularly how it affects those in need:

“If you are a young parent struggling to pay for child care in the United States, there are programs we offer to make it easier for your child to enroll in day care or attend kindergarten. Those programs should be available to Americans and not be exploited by Somali immigrants or others. Accessing the resources you need shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Additionally, we’ve established a major interagency task force to get to the root of this fraud, particularly since it allows people who shouldn’t be in this country to defraud the United States and taxpayers in the first place.”

Vance noted, “We know fraud isn’t just happening in Minneapolis. It’s happening in states like Ohio. It’s happening in states like California.”

Various federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Small Business Administration (SBA), are collaborating in this initiative. Recently, DHS sent nearly 2,000 agents to Minnesota, arresting over 1,000 criminal illegal aliens. Through Operation Twin Shield, more than 1,300 fraud cases have been identified in Minneapolis and St. Paul. HHS has frozen payments to 14 Medicaid programs in the state while investigating child care services. The SBA also halted payments for 6,900 Minnesota borrowers.

The Justice Department is probing several fraudulent schemes, including one brought to light by citizen journalist Nick Shirley in a viral video. Reports indicate that abandoned child care and medical facilities improperly received millions in federal funding. Vance praised Shirley’s investigative work as “much more useful journalism” than that of a Pulitzer Prize winner, stating that he and his team uncovered over $110 million in just one day.

In a response to a reporter, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz commented:

“Tim Walz is a joke. His entire administration was a joke. He is the man who enabled the fraud and may have participated in it. This new assistant attorney general role will expose that. My priority is to uncover the truth about this fraud for the American people and to enforce immigration laws, and that’s what we will focus on.”

The fraud investigations in Minnesota played a significant role in the administration’s decision to freeze $10 billion in child care and family support funds allocated to five Democratic-led states. HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill emphasized that the goal is to ensure these funds are properly used and not misappropriated. “Families who rely on child care and family support programs deserve to have confidence that these resources are being used legally and for their intended purposes,” he remarked.

Prior to launching the ‘Protect Your Spend’ initiative, the government will require detailed justifications for all child care expenditures. HHS is also enforcing a law that mandates immigrant sponsors to repay Medicaid benefits utilized by their sponsored immigrants.

Recently, the former president stated on Truth Social that a fraud investigation in California has commenced, accusing Governor Gavin Newsom of systemic corruption. According to the Department of Government Efficiency, California accounted for $305 million of the $382 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits distributed nationally since 2020. Justice Department prosecutors have also charged former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson with multiple federal offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud.