The Trump administration permanently suspended 870,000 people who defrauded the state with pandemic subsidies

The task force led by Vice President JD Vance announced that approximately 870,000 people who defrauded the United States government in COVID-19 pandemic subsidies have been permanently disqualified and will no longer be able to receive any type of federal assistance.

"We are going to permanently suspend 870,000 people. People who defrauded the government in recent years, in the last decades. We will make it impossible for them to obtain loans from the federal government," Vance declared at a press conference held in Missouri where the main officials of Trump's cabinet were present.

"If you have harmed the American taxpayer, the federal government will now tell you that you no longer have the right to anything, it's over. You should not reapply. And if you do, you will no longer be able to receive those benefits," Vance added.

In total, the investigation — which took place from mid-June to early September and was called the "Heartland Fraud Wave" — resulted in the arrest of more than 160 people with an estimated $245 million in tentative losses for taxpayers.

Five years ago, the U.S. government implemented emergency loans for the first time so that small and medium-sized businesses could survive an economy paralyzed due to the pandemic and lockdown.

At that press conference, Trump officials cited several examples of multimillion-dollar scams against the state. One of them was the case of Jamie Gray in the western district of Missouri, who was charged with running a money laundering scheme amounting to nearly $56 million.

This is not the first scam network that the Trump administration has dismantled. Earlier this year, thanks to the journalistic work of influencer Nick Shirley, a fraud in Minneapolis backed by the Democratic Party was uncovered involving childcare centers and home healthcare businesses managed by Somali immigrants.