FIGHTING CRIMINAL FRAUD NATIONWIDE:Today, the Trump Administration is announcing the upcoming creation of the Department of Justice’s new division for national fraud enforcement.

• To combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud in the United States, the DOJ’s new division for national fraud enforcement will enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide.
• The Assistant Attorney General for this new division will be responsible for leading the Department’s efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government, Federally funded programs, and private citizens. This role will oversee multi-district and multi-agency fraud investigations; provide advice, assistance, and direction to the United States Attorneys’ Offices on fraud-related issues; and work closely with Federal agencies and Department components to identify, disrupt, and dismantle organized and sophisticated fraud schemes across jurisdictions.
  • The new Assistant Attorney General will also help develop and set national enforcement priorities, and propose legislative and regulatory reforms as necessary to close systematic vulnerabilities and prevent future abuses.
  • The Assistant Attorney General will also advise the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on issues involving significant, high-impact fraud investigations and prosecutions and related policy matters.

HERE ARE THE ACTIONS THE ADMINISTRATION HAS ALREADY TAKEN TO END MINNESOTA’S FRAUD EPIDEMIC:

• The Department of Justice is currently engaged in multiple active, ongoing, and extensive investigations into the fraudulent activity that has occurred in various Minnesota programs, including the State’s Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization Services, Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention programs. Department lawyers are also leading the prosecution of the Evergreen Recovery Medicaid fraud defendants.
  • The DOJ has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases — 85 of whom are of Somali descent. 64 of the defendants have already been convicted.
  • The DOJ has already issued over 1,750 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and conducted over 1,000 witness interviews as part of its ongoing investigation.
  • Many of the facilities and schemes visited in Nick Shirley’s viral video are currently under active investigation by the DOJ; in fact, one of the buildings prominently featured in the video has already had 13 defendants charged for fraud.
  • The DOJ is surging prosecution resources to Minnesota, doubling the number of attorneys handling these matters.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting investigations into dozens of the State’s health care and home care providers accused of fraud, deploying forensic accountants and data analytics teams, and investigating potential links to elected officials and terrorist financing.
• The Department of Homeland Security has sent roughly 2,000 agents to Minnesota and is conducting targeted, door-to-door investigations at locations suspected of fraud.
  • DHS has arrested over 1,000 criminal illegal aliens in just the past few weeks as immigration enforcement operations continue. Additionally, as part of Operation Twin Shield earlier this year, DHS identified over 1,300 fraud findings based on site visits in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and is currently in the process of determining which cases require additional vetting, including for refugee status and potential denaturalization.
• The Department of Health and Human Services has frozen childcare payments and started requiring a justification, receipt, or photo evidence for all childcare-related payments nationwide. HHS is also enforcing a long-ignored Federal law to demand immigration sponsors repay Medicaid benefits used by sponsored immigrants. And HHS is investigating Minnesota’s Head Start programs over allegations of fraud by illegal aliens.
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified Minnesota Governor Tim Walz they are pressing pause on Medicaid payments to the 14 programs the State previously flagged for fraud, waste, and abuse until auditors can verify which claims are legitimate. This follows CMS’ determination that the Minnesota Medicaid agency is operating its program in substantial noncompliance with Federal requirements.
  • HHS cut off an additional $10 billion in five Democrat-run states, including Minnesota.
• The Small Business Administration has halted all annual grant payments to Minnesota. The agency also suspended 6,900 borrowers in the State due to approximately $400 million in suspected fraudulent activity — banning the individuals from all further loan programs, including disaster loans.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development has dispatched a team to Minnesota to investigate possible housing-assistance fraud.
• The Department of Labor is currently conducting a targeted review of Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance program.
• The Department of Agriculture has demanded Minnesota conduct recertification for its SNAP recipients to ensure the program complies with eligibility requirements — a commonsense move inexplicably challenged in court by state officials.

H/T @WhiteHouse on Truth Social