War On Fraud

By: Congressman Anthony D’Esposito

When I was sworn in as Inspector General of the United States Department of Labor, I understood the responsibility that came with the badge, the office, and the oath. The American people deserve a government that works for them, protects their tax dollars, and holds fraudsters accountable—not one that allows criminals to exploit broken systems while hardworking families foot the bill.

Over these initial months in office, one thing has become abundantly clear: fraud is not victimless. Every stolen unemployment insurance check, every fake claim, every fraudulent payment represents money taken directly from American workers, taxpayers, and families struggling to make ends meet.

That is why I am proud to serve under President Donald J. Trump and alongside Vice President J.D. Vance as part of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. This Administration recognized early that fraud had become a national crisis hiding in plain sight. Instead of ignoring the problem or protecting bureaucratic failures, President Trump and Vice President Vance decided to confront it head-on with a whole-of-government enforcement strategy focused on accountability, recovery, and results.

The message from this Administration is simple: the days of treating fraud like a paperwork issue are over. Fraud is theft. Fraud is organized crime. Fraud is an attack on the American taxpayer.

For too long, pandemic-era programs were treated as untouchable topics in Washington. Billions of taxpayer dollars flowed out the door with little oversight, weak safeguards, outdated technology, and virtually no urgency to claw the money back once it was stolen. Criminal organizations, both foreign and domestic took advantage of those failures and looted programs intended to help vulnerable Americans during one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s history.

The American people were told to move on. We refused.

At the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, our agents, auditors, analysts, and professional staff have aggressively pursued fraudsters who believed they got away with it. We are tracking down stolen funds, working alongside federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and using every available authority to preserve and recover taxpayer dollars before they disappear forever.

Recently, our office identified nearly $1 billion connected to pandemic unemployment insurance prepaid debit cards that remain active or recoverable. That discovery was not luck. It was the result of relentless investigative work by dedicated public servants who refused to accept that stolen taxpayer money should simply vanish into the system. Our office immediately moved to issue alerts and engage financial institutions to preserve those funds and stop them from being lost through escheatment processes before investigators could act.

This work matters because accountability matters.

I have spent my life in public service—as a cop, as a firefighter, as a local official, and as a Member of Congress. One lesson has followed me through every role: when government fails to enforce the law fairly and aggressively, trust erodes. Americans begin to believe there are two systems—one for hardworking citizens and another for criminals who know how to game the system.

President Trump and Vice President Vance understand that restoring trust requires action, not slogans. Their support for Inspectors General, law enforcement agencies, and anti-fraud initiatives has empowered offices like ours to move faster, coordinate more effectively, and deliver real results for taxpayers.

The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud has brought agencies together in ways the federal government should have been doing years ago. The Department of Labor, Department of Justice, Treasury, FBI, Inspectors General, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and countless other partners are now operating with a unified mission: identify fraud, stop fraud, recover stolen funds, and prosecute those responsible.

And the results are already showing.

Across the country, investigators and prosecutors are securing convictions, guilty pleas, indictments, seizures, and recoveries tied to pandemic fraud schemes, healthcare fraud, unemployment insurance theft, and organized criminal enterprises targeting taxpayer-funded programs. Fraudsters who once believed they were untouchable are now learning a very different lesson: the hunters have become the hunted.

I also want to recognize the incredible work being done by the Inspector General community throughout the Nation. These offices are often overlooked, but they represent one of the most important lines of defense in protecting taxpayers and preserving faith in government institutions. The men and women serving in OIG offices are auditors, criminal investigators, attorneys, analysts, and professionals who work tirelessly, often behind the scenes, to expose corruption, root out waste, and ensure accountability.

They are patriots.

Whether investigating labor fraud, healthcare fraud, procurement corruption, pandemic abuse, or public corruption, Inspectors General across the federal government are proving every day that oversight and enforcement are essential to good government.

At the Department of Labor OIG, we are not slowing down. In fact, we are accelerating. We are expanding partnerships, strengthening oversight, modernizing investigative strategies, and pursuing fraud aggressively wherever we find it. We are also focused on prevention by identifying weaknesses in systems before criminals exploit them and ensuring agencies build stronger safeguards for the future.

Fraud is a tax the American people never voted for. Every dollar stolen through fraud is a dollar unavailable for infrastructure, public safety, workforce development, healthcare, or helping Americans truly in need.

That is why this mission is personal to me.

The American taxpayer deserves accountability. Workers deserve protection. Criminals deserve consequences.

I am grateful to President Trump and Vice President Vance for their leadership, their confidence in the Inspector General community, and their commitment to restoring integrity and accountability throughout the federal government. I am equally grateful to the dedicated men and women of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and our law enforcement partners nationwide who continue standing in the foxhole every day in this war on fraud.

And to the fraudsters who thought nobody was watching anymore: we are watching now. 

Congressman Anthony D’Esposito serves as Inspector General of the Department of Labor. Previously, he served in Congress, representing New York’s 4th Congressional District. Anthony served as a Councilman in the Town of Hempstead after retiring from the NYPD as a highly decorated Detective. He also served as Chief of the Island Park Fire Department and helped lead the all-volunteer organization’s response to Super-Storm Sandy. The Congressman appears frequently on national media outlets. To contact, email [email protected].