As prepared for delivery.
ST. CLOUD, Minn.—Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here today. I am pleased to be joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald as we bring new force to the fight against fraud.
President Trump has made clear that the war on fraud is not the work of one department, but a mandate we must carry across the Administration. I am proud to stand alongside so many dedicated colleagues who are delivering on that mandate every day.
America is a generous country. And the compassion of our people imposes a corresponding duty on our government.
That is why I visited Minnesota in January to make clear that the U.S. Treasury is deploying every tool to bring an end to this egregious, unchecked fraud and hold perpetrators to account.
Over the past year, Treasury returned $175 million in payments that would have gone to deceased individuals—and expanded Do Not Pay access from 4 to 99 percent of federal programs.
Further, we’ve stopped almost $190 million and returned over $100 million in funds to U.S. victims of overseas fraud; ordered an audit of approximately $9 billion in Treasury contracts; and, together with our partners at the IRS, proposed stronger eligibility checks for health insurance tax credits.
These actions form one front of a whole-of-government effort led by Vice President Vance. The Vice President’s task force first convened in March. And he has worked tirelessly to restore vigilance and responsible stewardship in the management of public money.
Since January 2025, the Trump Administration has uncovered more than $260 billion in fraud, prevented $72 billion in taxpayer funds from going out the door to illicit actors annually, and brought enforcement actions involving nearly $60 billion.
Nowhere is this work more urgent than here in Minnesota.
In the weeks following my visit, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, issued a Geographic Targeting Order to trace criminal networks that divert funds overseas—and ensure that taxpayer dollars go to the American people, not terror groups like al-Shabaab. We have ongoing investigations at home and abroad into al-Shabaab, its network and its enablers.
Since the start of the Trump Administration, FinCEN data have also supported the law enforcement effort that led to the arrest and charging of 115 fraudsters, as well as seventy-five convictions and nearly 3,000 subpoenas across Minnesota.
And just yesterday, IRS-CI assisted with investigative activity at several sites suspected of fraud. I want to give a shoutout to our great officers at IRS-CI. They don’t get much press, but they are quietly one of the most effective groups in the United States government for fighting fraud.
Today, FinCEN released additional information to help refer new leads to law enforcement and provide support to ongoing investigations.
We issued a notice to help financial institutions identify and report suspicious activity, especially involving charities and nonprofits.
The notice highlights how criminals exploit fundraising capabilities to facilitate terrorist financing, fraud, and other illicit activity.
FinCEN also issued an alert on the risks associated with cross-border transactions originated by money services businesses, known as MSBs.
The alert details how bad actors can exploit MSBs to move funds overseas.
FinCEN identified over $8 billion in potentially suspicious foreign agent-directed payments between 2021 and 2025 alone.
And today’s alert urges financial institutions to be vigilant in detecting, identifying, and reporting suspicious activity arising from certain cross-border payments involving U.S.-based MSBs.
The next phase of this fight, meanwhile, will make it easier than ever for whistleblowers who know where fraud is hiding to lead us to it.
Until now, any citizen who detected fraud was forced to navigate a maze of tip lines scattered across law enforcement agencies.
No more.
For the first time, we’ve created a single, centralized portal at America.gov/fraud.
Treasury is proud to seed this new, $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program.
And anyone who submits information that leads to a conviction or enforcement action may be eligible for a reward up to $30,000.
Speaking up has long carried a cost for whistleblowers. Under President Trump, it can offer a reward.
Now, the industrial-scale fraud that Tim Walz shamefully, and perhaps knowingly, allowed to fester is the defining legacy of his administration.
But with President Trump back in office, Washington is no longer content to watch Minnesota’s fraud epidemic spiral from a distance.
The days of indifference are over.
And under this President’s leadership, wherever the money leads, the full weight of government will follow.
Now, I am pleased to turn it over to someone who has helped to give the fight against fraud both its discipline and its force, FBI Director Kash Patel.
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