WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday established a new national fraud enforcement division within the Department of Justice (DOJ), in an attempt to "combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud" in the United States.
"The DOJ's new division for national fraud enforcement will enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide," the White House said in a fact sheet.
It said that the assistant attorney general for this new division will be responsible for leading the DOJ's efforts to investigate, prosecute and remedy fraud affecting the federal government, federally funded programs, and private citizens.
The White House also laid out the actions the administration has taken "to end Minnesota's fraud epidemic."
The DOJ is currently engaged in multiple active, ongoing and extensive investigations into the fraudulent activity that has occurred in various Minnesota programs, including the state's Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization Services, Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention programs, according to the White House.
It said that the DOJ has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent, and 64 of the defendants have already been convicted.
The Department of Homeland Security has sent roughly 2,000 agents to Minnesota and is conducting targeted, door-to-door investigations at locations suspected of fraud. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services has cut off an additional 10 billion U.S. dollars in five Democrat-run states, including Minnesota, it added.
In recent days, the Trump administration's rhetoric and actions against federal welfare fraud in Minnesota have escalated rapidly, accompanied by multiple media reports and videos released by political opinion leaders, bringing increased attention to both the cases and public debate.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has repeatedly claimed that the administration's actions are politically motivated. ■
