US Vice President JD Vance says an anti-fraud task force is working to recover hundreds of billions in fraudulent small business loans, COVID relief and student aid. He told state attorneys general on Tuesday the team has, in two months, “exposed billions of dollars in benefits that had been stolen from the American people.”
“We referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection,” he said. “We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements that were coming from various states, particularly California. We put a six-month hold on enrollments for new hospice and home health care providers, because so many of the newer hospice providers were not actually providing hospice services but were just focused on fraud.”
He added another $135 billion “stolen after the floodgates were opened in the immediate aftermath of COVID,” were also clawed back, as was $6.3 billion in “suspected fraudulent government contracts,” he added.
The White House said Trump and Vance are “unleashing an unrelenting, full-scale assault on the fraudsters, scammers and corrupt operators who have looted billions from American taxpayers.”
Below are some of the Task Force’s key actions and victories to date:
– Feb 25, 2026: Halted nearly $260 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota, demanding full cooperation.
– Mar 19: Charged 11 in a California real estate and loan fraud ring preying on the elderly.
– Mar 25: Suspended dozens of high-risk hospice and home health providers in Los Angeles.
– Mar 30: Launched a national fraud whistleblower program.
– Apr 2: Suspended hundreds more high-risk hospice and home health providers across California.
– Apr 3: Charged more than a dozen in a $50 million hospice fraud scheme.
– Apr 7: DOJ got a guilty plea in a $270 million false reimbursement case in California.
– Apr 8: DOJ confirmed 8,000 active fraud cases; Task Force uncovered $6.3 billion in suspected fraudulent contracts.
– Apr 15: Suspended 447 hospices and 23 home health agencies in LA, estimated fraud >$600 million.
– Apr 16: Served warrants on 20 Minnesota businesses suspected of SNAP fraud.
– Apr 17: New National Fraud Enforcement Division acted on schemes totaling over $340 million in week one.
– Apr 24: SBA referred 562,000 pandemic-era loans — $22 billion — for collection.
– Apr 28: Targeted nearly two dozen Minnesota childcare centers for enforcement.
– Apr 30: Launched West Coast Strike Force for healthcare fraud; deferred $91 million in Minnesota Medicaid funds.
– May 12: Identified over 10,000 suspected fraud cases in immigration student work programs.
– May 13: Suspended $1.4 billion in home health and hospice funding nationwide; deferred $1.3 billion for California; halted new Medicare hospice enrollments; launched audits of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units; blocked $60 million in fraudulent student loan applications.
– May 20: Charged a Minneapolis daycare owner from a viral video.
– May 21: Expanded Health Care Fraud Strike Force and charged 15 in a large Minnesota healthcare fraud scheme, including record losses in Medicaid and the largest autism fraud prosecution.
