Vance says new assistant AG will make sure 'no fraud' is small or big enough to 'look away from'

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday the Justice Department will no longer "turn a blind eye" to fraud in the United States, regardless of how big or small the fraud is.

Vance made the comment just before he swore Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement Colin McDonald into office, who has been confirmed to help lead Vance's national fraud task force.

The vice president claimed that the DOJ previously "turned a blind eye" toward fraud that was under an undisclosed dollar amount, but that McDonald has promised to ensure that "no fraud is small enough or big enough to look away from."

"Our entire social safety net, our entire idea of neighbors helping out neighbors, of Americans helping out Americans, is premised on the idea that only the people who really need these programs get them," Vance said. "That when the American taxpayer sends money to a program, it goes to somebody in their community who has the legal right to be here [and] has the legal right to actually benefit from these programs.

"Our sense of social trust, our sense of belonging, our sense that we help each other out, but we help out the people in our community, not the fraudsters who are getting rich off of our generosity," he added.

Vance said he has been "surprised" by the Justice Department's failure to prosecute smaller fraud cases and claimed prosecuting all fraud should serve as a warning to illegal migrants.

"I think that's going to reimpose deterrence," Vance said. "It's going to make fraudsters know that they're going to suffer some consequences, and it's going to make the American people know that these programs are being protected for the people who need them, because there are a lot of them out there."

McDonald is a federal prosecutor who was confirmed by the Senate last month. Vance oversaw McDonald's swearing-in ceremony, which comes as the Trump administration cracks down on public welfare fraud following revelations of large-scale public funds abuse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The welfare scams, which involved taking federal funds from state-administered social services programs in the 2020s, have cost taxpayers, according to some estimates, $9 billion and have resulted in roughly 50 people being convicted. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.