BANGOR, Maine–Vice President JD Vance highlighted broad anti-fraud initiatives he is spearheading and endorsed local Republican candidates while headlining a rally held at the Bangor International Airport on May 14.
“This does not need to be Republican versus Democrat. This needs to be fraudster against non-fraudster,” Vance said, offering to negotiate across the political aisle to identify fraud. “This needs to be good government versus bad government.”
The vice president chairs the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, established by President Donald Trump’s executive order in March.
He vowed to stop criminals from victimizing U.S. citizens.
“The American taxpayer, the main taxpayer, the people who wake up, who go to work, who do what they’re supposed to do, and don’t want their money stolen by people who are doing the opposite of what they’re supposed to do. You were the first victim of fraud,” Vance said.
“Fraud is exactly what happens when you’ve got a government that is not fighting for the American people, but is fighting for fraudsters and illegal aliens.”
Nearly 1,000 supporters made it inside the hangar to hear the vice president speak, a standing-room-only crowd filling the gaps along the walls while approximately another 1,000 would-be attendees lined up outside.
Speakers informed the audience of sophisticated scams taking place in Maine, where fraudsters gain tens of thousands of dollars per patient by placing individuals in travel trailers around the state, among other schemes.
“There’s a lot of fraud in this state, and it’s gotten worse,” Philip Badger, 78, of Hampden—located about five miles south of Bangor—told The Epoch Times while waiting for the rally to begin. “I want to see the people stealing from us put in jail.”
The vice president laughed when an audience member yelled that fraud perpetrators should face imprisonment in the notorious Guantanamo. A playful back-and-forth banter between Vance and the energetic group led to several impromptu bursts of laughter from the participants.
With Maine’s June 9 primaries fast approaching, he asked voters to support local Republican candidates. Several seats are up for grabs, with current Gov. Janet Mills forced out due to term limits.
Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is in a race for the state’s 2nd Congressional District, currently occupied by Democrat Jared Golden, who is not seeking reelection.
LePage was greeted with enthusiastic applause when he approached the stage, later telling the audience Vance’s appearance represented “a warning shot to every fraudster, scam artist, and corrupt bureaucrat.”
Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling told the crowd that potentially $135 billion of the $888 billion paid out in COVID relief unemployment benefits went to fraudulent claims. Statewide, $93 million was overpaid, with approximately $7 million recovered so far.
“That was meant for you. That was meant for your families,” he said. “It was meant for hardworking Americans, but instead, criminals, fraud rings, and overseas scammers took this money.”
Other fraud uncovered includes $29 billion improperly paid to claims using the same Social Security numbers across the country, with $139 million sent to deceased individuals, according to Sonderling.
Investigations also revealed more than $1 billion paid out in unemployment benefits to minors younger than 14, an impossibility, he noted, because the age is too young to legally work.
Authorities are working to recover $520 million in frozen bank accounts and approximately $912 million in unused prepaid debit cards.
Vance held a press conference on Wednesday to announce $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursement payments withheld from California, as well as the suspension of payments to approximately 800 hospice centers in Los Angeles.
Other states, including Maine, were put on notice this week that similar deferrals would occur if officials fail to curb fraud.
Nearly two dozen protesters waited near the entrance to the airport, many waving signs reading various messages, including “War is not the answer” and “Hate has no home here.”
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