KANSAS CITY, Mo. — United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, R. Matthew Price, announced the launch of the District’s Show-Me Fraud Task Force, bringing together state and federal agencies to strengthen coordination, improve information sharing, and enhance efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud affecting Missouri.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office hosted the task force’s kickoff meeting in Jefferson City, which was attended by representatives from participating state and federal agencies. The meeting focused on ways governmental agencies can work together proactively to combat fraud, including strengthening information sharing, identifying emerging fraud trends, exchanging actionable intelligence, prioritizing investigative leads, and coordinating investigative and prosecutorial efforts.
“Combating fraud requires agencies to work together, share information, and connect the dots across investigations,” said U.S. Attorney Price. “By bringing our state and federal partners together, we can identify patterns of fraudulent activity, focus our resources where they will have the greatest impact, and pursue the strongest cases. Our shared commitment is to hold those who commit fraud accountable and protect public resources.”
Agencies participating in the Show-Me Fraud Task Force include:
United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri, led by United States Attorney R. Matthew Price United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri, led by United States Attorney Tom Albus Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe’s Office Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s Office Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s Office Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ Office Federal Bureau of Investigation Homeland Security Investigations Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations U.S. Postal Inspection Service U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General Key priorities of the Show-Me Fraud Task Force include:
Strengthening coordination and information sharing among participating agencies to identify fraud affecting Missouri Exchanging actionable intelligence, investigative leads, and information about emerging fraud trends Establishing clear criteria for evaluating, prioritizing, and referring potential fraud investigations Identifying opportunities for lawful access to relevant government records and databases to support investigations Coordinating investigative and prosecutorial efforts to pursue the strongest cases and Strategically deploying investigative resources and exploring collaborative arrangements when agencies face resource constraints. The Show-Me Fraud Task Force supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s nationwide effort to strengthen government fraud enforcement through the National Fraud Enforcement Division and the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Government Fraud Subcommittee. The initiative encourages coordination among government agencies to improve the identification, investigation, and prosecution of fraud.
Through this collaborative effort, the Western District of Missouri and its state and federal partners will work to identify fraud, connect the dots, and pursue the strongest cases together.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Missouri — U.S. Department of Justice press release.