Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration has identified more than $8 billion in potentially suspicious wire payments directed by foreign agents from 2021 to 2025, The Epoch Times reported.
The announcement came during a news conference on October 30 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where Bessent detailed broader anti-fraud efforts.
Since January 2025 the administration has uncovered more than $260 billion in fraud, prevented $72 billion in fraud, and brought enforcement actions against nearly $60 billion in fraud, he said.
“The days of indifference are over … wherever the money leads, the full weight of government will follow,” Bessent stated.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert Friday urging financial institutions to remain vigilant for suspicious activity linked to certain cross-border payments involving U.S.-based money services.
In light of the $8 billion figure, the Treasury warned that bad actors can exploit these services to move funds overseas and conceal illegal activities, including providing money for terrorist organizations.
The administration has stopped nearly $190 million in funds linked to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to American victims, Bessent added.
A prior geographic targeting order from FinCEN aimed at reducing fraud in Minnesota traces networks that divert funding overseas and seeks to ensure U.S. taxpayer money does not reach groups such as the Somalia-based Al Shabaab.
“We have ongoing investigations at home and abroad into Al Shabaab, its networks, and its enablers,” Bessent said.
Under this administration FinCEN has supported law enforcement efforts leading to the arrest of 115 fraudsters, 75 convictions, and nearly 3,000 subpoenas in Minnesota.
Bessent was joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.
Patel said FBI Minneapolis and other officials executed 17 search warrants that produced a 26-count indictment as part of a fraud investigation on October 29.
Officials also arrested four people for allegedly intending to defraud thousands of victims of over $41 million.
McDonald announced that five people were charged in the past week with healthcare fraud offenses tied to Medicaid schemes involving $48 million in intended losses.
He noted that 14 fraud defendants in Minnesota have been sentenced to a total of 988 months in prison over roughly 115 days.
The news conference follows the March launch of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud by executive order.
On October 20 President Trump and Vice President JD Vance announced a $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program offering rewards for tips that lead to charges.