Vice President JD Vance discussed what he described as widespread fraud in government programs during remarks in North Carolina, outlining actions the Trump administration says it is taking to investigate misuse of taxpayer funds and enforce accountability.

Vance said the administration has begun examining programs across the country to determine how fraud has occurred and how resources intended for Americans have been misused.

"Well, you know, we know there's a lot of fraud in California, and we're trying to get to the bottom of exactly what it looks like," Vance said.

"And what we've done in the Trump administration, and the President has really empowered us to do this is to take the first national look at the way the American people have been defrauded over many, many years."

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Vance said investigations have identified significant financial irregularities in several areas, including in Minnesota.

"And I'll give you a few very concrete examples. So in the state of Minnesota, you asked about Minnesota, we think that there's probably been $19 billion at least a fraud just committed in Minneapolis and the surrounding areas," Vance said.

According to Vance, fraud has not only affected taxpayers but has also diverted assistance from individuals the programs were designed to help.

"Let me give you an example this because it's not just the American people being defrauded. It's not just your tax dollars that are being stolen out of your wallet and given to fraudsters. It's the fact that the services we need to deliver to needy people are not getting delivered because they're going to fraudsters," Vance said.

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He referenced a Medicaid-related program intended to support children with developmental conditions.

"So for example, there's a program that we have, and I believe it's under Medicaid, where we try to help kids who have autism, Asperger's and so forth. Sometimes they need a little extra help. Sometimes they need somebody to sit with them after school. Sometimes they need somebody to provide transportation to certain places, and we have a program within Medicaid to ensure that these needy kids get the resources that they need," Vance said.

Vance said the program reflects a broader principle about helping vulnerable Americans.

"And it's one of the things, by the way, I love about the United States of America. We want everybody to work hard. We want everybody to play by the rules. But if we've got a needy kid in our community, we're not going to let that person fall down on their own. All Americans are going to lift that kid up together. That's an amazing thing about our country," he said.

Vance alleged that individuals exploited the system by filing fraudulent claims.

"But you know what was happening for this program that was meant to help needy kids is you would have Somali fraudsters, many of them illegal immigrants, who would go and say that they had an autistic kid, even though they didn't, they would collect that money for themselves," Vance said.

He also claimed businesses participated in the scheme.

"You had businesses that were going around and rewarding families for engaging in this fraud. So the businesses were skimming off the top and getting rich in the process," Vance said.

Vance credited President Donald Trump with addressing the issue.

"How disgraceful is it that Democrats allowed a program that was meant to help needy American children to go to Somali illegal aliens. The President of the United States stopped it, and there's a lot more fraud beyond that that we're going to stop as well," he said.

Vance said the administration plans to pursue criminal cases against those responsible for fraud and work to recover funds.

"The one last point that I'll make here before we have to hit the road is I hate to say this, and it's been shocking to me as we've gotten in this we want to, you know, frankly, we want to arrest the people who engaged in criminal fraud. We want to make sure that the people who did this stuff realize there are serious consequences for it happening," Vance said.

He said the effort is intended to ensure assistance reaches the people it was designed to help.

"We want to make sure that the needy kids all across our communities get what they need. There are so many layers to this anti fraud initiative that the President has directed the administration to focus on," Vance said.

Vance said the scale of fraud discovered during the investigation had been surprising.

"But you know what's so crazy about this that nobody until Donald J Trump, thought to focus on it. Now I obviously, I love the president, I admire the president, but this fraud was staring us in the face, and nobody was doing anything about it," he said.

Vance also described a situation involving a school name he cited while discussing alleged fraud in Minnesota.

"This is not rocket science when you have a Somali fraudster come into the United States illegally and then set up a school to collect tax dollars. And the name of the school is the quality learning center, Learning Center, but when they put the sign up, they take the n out, so it says quality leering center," Vance said.

He said that organization received government funding.

"And that group the quality leering center. I don't know about you, but I don't want to send my kids to a school where they can't spell learn. That group was getting millions of dollars from the American taxpayer," Vance said.

Vance said other forms of fraud have been identified as well.

"There is so much fraud in our system. There are legal aliens who shouldn't be here, who are on Medicaid. There are, there are companies that are that are set up to provide medical devices, you know, knee joints and hip joints and other medical devices that are necessary for people's health, that have collected hundreds of millions of dollars and have produced precisely zero medical devices that have helped our people," he said.

He argued that the issue has existed for years without adequate action.

"This stuff has been going on forever, and every single person in this audience should be scandalized by it," Vance said.

Vance concluded by pledging that the administration would continue efforts to investigate fraud and prioritize American citizens.

"But here's the crazy thing, it's not that all of you are scandalized that you're getting stolen from the crazy thing is that we had a Democratic leadership who didn't do anything about it," he said.

"And so here is what I promise every single person here, every single person watching, every single person in the state of North Carolina, that we are done allowing you to be stolen from. We are done allowing you to be defrauded. We are going to go after the fraud, and we are going to rebuild the American Dream by making sure that it goes to Americans first and Americans only. God. Bless you all, and thank you for having me."

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