Data Coordination Key Element in New Federal Fraud Task Force
President Trump signed an executive order launching a new White House task force to identify and root out fraud in federal benefit programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The order calls for greater data sharing and coordination “between State, local, tribal, and territorial governments and the Federal Government, and benefit-providing agencies and law enforcement agencies.”
The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will be run by Vice President JD Vance as chairman and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson as vice chairman.
The president says that preventing fraud in federal benefit programs could help lower the national deficit.
“If we found half of the fraud that’s taking place in this country — and I think you have a chance of doing that — we would have much more than a balanced budget. That’s the kind of numbers you’re talking about. The theft is incredible,” said President Trump.
Task force members include the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, Labor, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, the Small Business Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget.
Task Force Mission
The task force is charged with disrupting and dismantling fraud networks and the “mechanisms through which fraud is committed.” That includes improving eligibility verification, implementing pre-payment controls, and detecting high-risk fraud trends. It also involves developing minimum anti-fraud requirements, including proof of identity and documentation requirements, risk controls, and audit and remedial actions.
“We started to figure out one big hole that existed is that the agencies of the government weren’t actually talking to each other,” said Vice President Vance. “So Treasury would have evidence of financial fraud but wasn’t talking to the Department of Justice about it. Health and Human Services had evidence of Medicaid fraud but wasn’t talking to the Department of Treasury about it.”
Agencies on the task force will have 30 days to identify which of their benefit programs and transactions are most susceptible to fraud schemes and to suggest remedies.
The task force will also coordinate with the Homeland Security Council on any matters related to law enforcement, public safety, national security, transnational crime, and organized criminal activity.
President Trump previously charged Vice President Vance with leading efforts to investigate fraud in Minnesota. The administration pointed to those Minnesota cases as a need for the task force.
“Nearly 9 percent of the roughly $866 million spent on food stamps in Minnesota each year is estimated to be spent in error,” stated the executive order.
Concerns About Politicization
Fraud prevention experts say questions remain on whether this will be effective and whether it’s a way for the Trump Administration to target benefit programs in blue states like Minnesota, New York, and California.
“The ‘war on fraud’ is long overdue, but the real question is whether this is a true shift in strategy or, worse, another moment of over-politicization without changing the underlying system,” said Jordan Burris, the head of public sector at identity verification platform Socure, who worked in the first Trump administration.
