Today, Republican Attorneys General from across the country joined Vice President JD Vance and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud for a roundtable on combating fraud and protecting our nation’s most vulnerable.
Attorney General Brenna Bird (IA), Attorney General Derek Brown (UT), Attorney General Russell Coleman (KY), Attorney General Gentner Drummond (OK), Attorney General Lynn Fitch (MS), Attorney General Tim Griffin (AR), Attorney General Mike Hilgers (NE), Attorney General Marty Jackley (SD), Attorney General Kris Kobach (KS), Attorney General Austin Knudsen (MT), Attorney General Raúl Labrador (ID), Attorney General Todd Rokita (IN), soon-to-be Acting Attorney General Andy Wilson (OH), and Attorney General Drew Wrigley (ND) discussed protecting the American taxpayers who have lost billions of dollars to fraud and ensuring the services go to citizens who actually need them.
“We must restore deterrence by finding, prosecuting, and punishing fraudsters. Unless fraudsters believe that there will be consequences attached with attacking America’s benefits programs, they will keep doing it,” said Former Virginia Solicitor General and current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman and Vice Chairman of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Andrew Ferguson. “The only way to defeat the fraudsters is by making sure that they know, every single one of them, that if they try to commit fraud, they will be pursued, arrested, prosecuted, and jailed.”
“Our state partnerships are critical to solving the fraud crisis in our country,” said Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division Colin McDonald. “It is our mission to combat fraud no matter how big, no matter how small, no matter how hard.”
“We appreciate the leadership of Vice President Vance bringing together Attorneys General from across the country today to mobilize and combat fraud,” said RAGA Chairman and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. “Montanans and Americans expect these benefits to go to those in need of assistance, not to fraudsters or foreign nationals abusing the system.”
“While Republican Attorneys General are aggressively fighting fraud, waste, and abuse, Democrat AGs like Keith Ellison in Minnesota and Letitia James in New York knowingly aid and abet scams and fraud in their states,” said RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper. “Republican AGs are thrilled to roll up our sleeves and work with JD Vance, Republican AG staff alum Andrew Ferguson, Scott Brady, and the White House Task Force to save taxpayers billions of dollars and deliver maximum accountability. Vice President Vance is right – this is not a partisan issue. However, historical Democrat inaction speaks volumes.”
“Republican Attorneys General have the authority and specialized tools to aggressively root out criminals who defraud taxpayers through their dedicated Medicaid Fraud Control Units and Public Integrity Units,” said RAGA General Counsel Whitney Lipscomb. “By combining these state-level resources with the specialized support from the Administration, we will ensure these bad actors are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that millions of dollars rightfully belonging to the American people are recovered.”
