Fact check: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Holds a Fraud Task Force Press Conference in St. Cloud, MN
Scott Bessent · October 30, 2026 · 97 min
Every claim, in order
- TRUEat 59:10
“Treasury returned a 175,000,000 in payments that would have gone to deceased individuals”
What the data shows: Treasury identified and returned approximately 13,500 payments totaling $175 million that would have gone to deceased individuals in fiscal year 2026, per official Treasury Department announcement.
- TRUEat 59:10
“expanded the do not pay access from four to 99%”
What the data shows: Treasury increased Do Not Pay access from approximately 4% of federal programs at end of FY2025 to approximately 99% as of October 2026, per official Treasury press release.
- TRUEat 59:55
“ordered an audit of approximately 9,000,000,000 in treasury contracts”
What the data shows: U.S. Department of Treasury announced November 6, 2025, a comprehensive audit of approximately $9 billion in contracts and task orders awarded under preference-based contracting across Treasury and its bureaus.
- TRUEat 62:17
“FinCEN identified over $8,000,000,000 in potentially suspicious”
What the data shows: FinCEN identified over $8 billion in potentially suspicious foreign agent-directed wire payments through U.S. money services businesses from 2021 to 2025, announced October 30, 2026.
- TRUEat 63:49
“Treasury is proud to seed this new 25,000,000 fraud whistleblower incentive program”
What the data shows: Treasury Department committed $25 million to seed the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP), announced October 20, 2026, administered by DOJ's National Fraud Enforcement Division.
- MOSTLY TRUEat 63:49
“Anyone who submits information that leads to a conviction or enforcement action may be eligible for a $30,000 reward”
What the data shows: DOJ's Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP), announced October 20, 2026, offers $10,000-$30,000 for tips leading to criminal charges (not convictions). Treasury committed $25 million.
- TRUEat 65:37
“8,000,000 in intended loss”
What the data shows: FBI Director Kash Patel announced on October 30, 2026 that Feisal Elmi of Aspen Associates faced 11 counts of healthcare fraud with $8 million in intended loss, per the 26-count indictment.
- MISLEADINGat 67:11· said in 7 broadcasts
“we captured four of the most wanted fraudsters on four separate continents who are on the run for nearly five thousand days who defrauded Americans of $2,000,000,000”
What the data shows: FBI captured SIX Most Wanted Fraudsters (not four) across four continents who collectively spent over 4,000 days (not nearly 5,000) on the run, linked to over $2 billion in fraud. Announced by FBI Director Kash Patel, October 25, 2026.
- TRUEat 67:57· said in 2 broadcasts
“We have charged, thanks to our Department of Justice partners, 81 subjects. 70 have already been convicted, and their fraud value is over $500,000,000.”
What the data shows: Patel announced October 30, 2026 that Feeding Our Future investigation produced 81 charged, 70 convicted, fraud valued over $500 million. Figures confirmed by multiple sources.
- MISLEADINGat 69:59
“Charmaine was in, not just the Duchess, she was convicted by a federal jury for stealing over $3,500,000 for the now defunct Minnesota Medicaid housing stabilization services program”
What the data shows: Federal jury convicted Sharmaine Meadows of stealing $3.6 million from Minnesota Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program (DOJ press release, October 2026).
- TRUEat 70:50· said in 6 broadcasts
“program was so overrun with corruption that it ballooned from being about a $2,500,000 program when it was first... In 2020, just five years... Six years ago, to over a $100,000,000 in 2024”
What the data shows: Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program was estimated to cost $2.5-2.6 million annually when established in 2020, but reached $104-107 million in 2024 due to widespread fraud.
- FALSEat 73:27
“30%, almost one in three of all the people providing services in Minnesota could not be revalidated”
What the data shows: Minnesota DHS revalidated 2,061 of 5,583 high-risk Medicaid providers by May 31, 2026 deadline. 3,411 (61%) could not be revalidated; 111 removed from review; 59 referred to OIG.
- FALSEat 76:15
“the IRS has 2,900 gun carrying accountants”
What the data shows: IRS Criminal Investigation employs approximately 2,100 armed special agents as of recent reports, not 2,900.
- TRUEat 77:59
“15 new defendants charged with federal felonies in schemes reaching more than 90,000,000 in fraud”
What the data shows: DOJ announced May 21, 2026: 15 defendants charged with federal felonies in fraud schemes involving over $90 million in Medicaid and social services fraud.
- TRUEat 77:59
“five defendants have been charged with health care fraud offenses in Medicaid fraud schemes involving more than $48,000,000”
What the data shows: Five defendants charged with health care fraud offenses in Medicaid fraud schemes involving more than $48 million in intended losses, announced by AAG Colin McDonald on October 30, 2026.
- TRUEat 78:49
“29,000,000 in schemes that have been uncovered for the first time”
What the data shows: DOJ's Fraud Division and U.S. Attorney's Office for District of Minnesota announced approximately $29.1 million in Medicaid fraud schemes uncovered for the first time, as part of charges against five defendants in October 2026.
- TRUEat 78:49
“three properties in Minneapolis valued at approximately $519,000”
What the data shows: DOJ filed civil forfeiture complaint on October 19, 2026, seeking three Minneapolis properties valued at approximately $519,000, allegedly purchased with proceeds from Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
- TRUEat 79:37
“costs skyrocketed from 2,500,000 to 107,000,000 in just four years”
What the data shows: Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program costs grew from an estimated $2.5-2.6 million annually (2020) to $104-107 million by 2024, confirmed by Minnesota Reformer, DOJ statements, and House Oversight Committee reports.
- TRUEat 80:24
“He was responsible for more than 44,000,000 in fraud proceeds”
What the data shows: U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Salim Said to 30 years in prison on October 28, 2026, for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Court documents and prosecutors confirmed he was responsible for $44 million in fraud proceeds.
- MOSTLY TRUEat 86:12
“for four years these programs were laid bare for pirates to rob to the tunes of hundreds of billions of dollars”
What the data shows: GAO and agency OIGs estimate $300+ billion in pandemic-relief fraud (UI: $100-135B; PPP/EIDL: ~$200B) from 2020-2023. Improper payments peaked at $281B in FY2021.
- MISLEADINGat 88:33
“19,000,000,000 was the total”
What the data shows: Trump claimed $19 billion in fraud in Minnesota; independent audit found ~$218 million in alleged fraud uncovered to date. The $19 billion figure lacks independent verification and appears to conflate an unproven estimate with actual uncovered fraud.
- TRUEat 91:49
“$420,000,000 overpayment for a prison in Appleton, Minnesota when the company offered it to the state of Minnesota for 75,000,000”
What the data shows: DHS purchased Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton for $495.6 million in August 2026; CoreCivic had offered it to Minnesota for $75 million in May 2025. Price difference: $420.6 million.
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