Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration’s anti-fraud task force has uncovered billions of dollars in suspected fraud across several federal programs in just two months of operation.
Speaking during a White House briefing, Vance outlined multiple investigations tied to pandemic-era relief programs, Medicaid reimbursements, government contracts, and student aid funding. He said the task force has already referred billions of dollars for recovery and collection efforts.
“We referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection,” Vance said. “We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements.”
According to the administration, many of the loans were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic through emergency relief programs designed to support struggling businesses.
Federal officials allege hundreds of thousands of suspicious loans were previously flagged but not aggressively pursued for recovery.
Vance also said the task force recovered taxpayer funds connected to the estimated $135 billion stolen after pandemic relief restrictions were loosened during the COVID emergency period.
The administration did not immediately provide a detailed breakdown of how much money has already been returned to the federal government.
Another major focus has been healthcare fraud.
The vice president said investigators identified more than $1.3 billion in suspicious Medicaid reimbursements, much of it linked to California healthcare providers. The administration has already paused some federal payments while investigations continue.
Federal officials also announced a six-month freeze on new Medicare enrollments for certain hospice and home healthcare providers in areas flagged for unusually high billing activity.
In addition, Vance said the task force uncovered $6.3 billion in suspected fraudulent federal contracts. Officials said nearly 400 businesses receiving government contracts were asked to prove they are legitimate operations with verified physical addresses.
The anti-fraud initiative was launched earlier this year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a national fraud enforcement task force led by Vance.
The administration says the group is focused on reducing waste, abuse, and misuse of taxpayer funds across federal agencies.
The Department of Justice recently announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division to support the effort. Officials say more than 450 enforcement actions have already been opened nationwide.
Critics of the administration’s approach argue some of the actions could disrupt healthcare access and unfairly target Democratic-led states.
However, Vance defended the crackdown, saying the government has a responsibility to protect taxpayer money and restore confidence in federal programs.