Vance-led task force set to unveil charges against 40-plus defendants in alleged $40M SNAP fraud

FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance will announce today that the federal anti-fraud task force he leads has identified $40 million in welfare fraud and more than 40 suspects behind the alleged schemes.

A source familiar with the charges told Fox News Digital that Vance will reveal criminal charges as part of the administration’s continued crackdown on rampant fraud across the country.

The latest discovery brings the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud Vance's team has uncovered to $641 million. More than 1,000 retailers have been banned from the program for violations including criminal trafficking of benefits, while nearly 5,000 others have been suspended and fined a combined $44 million for administrative violations.

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The administration has destroyed more than 2,200 illegal point-of-sale devices and disabled more than 2,000 compromised retailer authorization numbers. Officials estimate those actions have prevented more than $5 billion in potential fraudulent transactions, according to the source.

SNAP is a federally funded food assistance program that helps eligible low-income households buy groceries. Benefits are loaded monthly onto an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, which recipients can use at authorized retailers to purchase qualifying food.

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Criminal charges brought against the defendants, however, do not guarantee the government can recover the funds.

During a Fox News Digital exclusive interview in August, Vance said that recouping the money presents yet another challenge, since much of it has already been spent.

"Getting money back is very hard," Vance said. "Once it's gone out the door, it's very hard to get it back."

"What we've done most effectively is actually just stop the money from going out the door in the first place, because that's the only real way to ensure the American people don't lose it."

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The task force has reported $260.7 billion in fraud uncovered since Trump took office, and $72 billion in fraud stopped on an annualized basis.

The news comes just a day after Vance and independent journalist Nick Shirley joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to announce the administration will be offering Americans, including journalists, cash rewards for tips that help bring fraudsters to justice.

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Trump unveiled the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program and said qualifying tipsters would receive a 1% commission, subject to applicable laws and rules.

"If you turn somebody in and you, let's say report, and you find $1 billion, we are giving a commission to that person of 1%," Trump said.

At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage by Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the "Quality Learing (sic) Center," that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants.

The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities.

Trump has previously praised Shirley’s work, telling him: "He's done an amazing job."