The Trump administration’s new Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President JD Vance, is moving to suspend dozens of Los Angeles businesses.
On March 16, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the task force, announcing that it would advise the president and coordinate efforts to end fraud, waste, and abuse in government benefit programs.
‘The American people deserve better than being ripped off by people who hate this country.’
The task force is working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to identify and suspend hospice and home health providers flagged as high risk.
CMS has suspended 70 providers, a source told Blaze News.
“As the task force to root out waste, fraud, and abuse ramps up its work, we expect this number to grow exponentially,” the source stated.
This latest action from the CMS builds on a February announcement of action to protect taxpayers by cracking down on fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid systems. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz joined Vance to reveal that the administration had deferred $259.5 million in quarterly Medicaid funding in Minnesota due to fraud concerns. Additionally, the CMS implemented a six-month moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for certain durable medical equipment suppliers.
Federal agents raid Minnesota health care services provider in December 2025. Christopher Juhn/Anadolu/Getty Images
The task force plans to utilize the CMS’ existing template, which involves an AI-driven internal fraud detection system that either blocks claims or flags them for review, a source told Blaze News.
This system can be scaled across the government to root out waste, fraud, and abuse nationwide more effectively. The task force is actively hiring CMS technologists to deploy this system.
“Vice President Vance looks forward to carrying out the president’s war on fraud,” a spokesperson for Vance told Blaze News. “The American people deserve better than being ripped off by people who hate this country, and the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will ensure that essential taxpayer-funded services are used to support the hardworking Americans who rely on them, instead of being used by fraudsters and criminals.”
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The White House’s announcement about the establishment of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud followed a bombshell investigation in December by journalist Nick Shirley, who uncovered a massive social-services fraud scandal in Minnesota.
The Trump administration appeared to confirm these reports, stating in its task force fact sheet that Medicaid fraud in Minnesota “could total billions,” adding that it was taking action to end the “epidemic.”
“There is strong reason to believe similar vulnerabilities exist in California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado, where insufficient safeguards and weak oversight increase the risk of large-scale fraud,” the White House wrote.
Earlier this month, Shirley revealed over $170 million in alleged day-care and hospice fraud in California.
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