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President Donald Trump has reportedly selected Vice President JD Vance to lead the benefits fraud task force that will be formally created when he signs an executive order on Monday (March 16), the Post reports.
Vance will reportedly join Trump in the Oval Office for the signing, which is set to take place Monday afternoon, and will lead a nationwide "war on fraud" following the publicized social-services scam in Minnesota resulting in dozens of indictments including allegations of fraudulent nutrition and autism care programs. A document obtained by the Post describing the order states “there is strong reason to believe similar vulnerabilities exist in California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado, where insufficient safeguards and weak oversight increase the risk of large-scale fraud.”
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will reportedly serve as vice chair of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, while White House aide Stephen Miller will serve as senior adviser and other cabinet members will participate as necessary, according to the Post. The order instructs the newly launched task force to come up with a national strategy combatting fraud programs administered with state and local governments to provide housing, food, medical and financial assistance and develop anti-fraud standards such as proof of identity and other requirements of documentation.
“In states across the country, fraudsters are depriving vulnerable citizens of basic social services, stealing billions of your tax dollars, and eroding America’s social fabric,” a Vance spokesperson told the Post. “This fraud has happened on such a massive scale that it’s endangering the future viability of America’s entire social safety net.
“The Trump Administration is responding with a whole-of-government War on Fraud that includes multiple stakeholders who will follow the fraud wherever it leads.”