U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced fraud prevention initiatives in Cloud, Minnesota, as part of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, aimed at combating fraud schemes that have cost the state billions of dollars.
According to Secretary Bessent, "Under President Trump and Vice President Vance's leadership, Treasury stopped nearly $190 million in funds tied to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to U.S. victims."
The announcement coincided with the sentencing of Salim Said to 30 years in federal prison. Said was a co-conspirator in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme defrauded the Federal Child Nutrition Program of $49 million. Said was owner of Safari Restaurant, which was used as an alleged food distribution site. He was convicted on 21 counts including wire fraud, money laundering, bribery and conspiracy. The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
As part of its fraud prevention efforts, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert and notice to financial institutions. FinCEN alerted banks to risks associated with certain cross-border payments involving money services businesses (MSBs). From 2021 to 2025, U.S. financial institutions reported more than $8 billion in potentially suspicious wire payments sent through U.S.-based money services businesses at the direction of foreign agents, according to the agency.
FinCEN also issued guidance to help financial institutions detect suspicious activity involving the exploitation of charities and non-profit organizations. The notice described three types of schemes: sham charities that falsely advertise legitimate purposes but use funds for illicit activity; fraud schemes that falsely advertise legitimate purposes but use funds to support individuals' lifestyles; and embezzlement by insiders who abuse their position of trust.