The federal fraud task force says it has uncovered 42 million dollars in food stamp theft, and a rapper who set cash on fire on camera is among the charged

The task force President Donald Trump created to hunt benefit fraud took its case to Cincinnati on Wednesday. Vice President JD Vance stood with officials from the Justice Department and the Agriculture Department and laid out what investigators say they have found in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the food stamp program that feeds tens of millions of Americans. The figure at the center of the announcement was 42 million dollars in fraud uncovered so far, as of October 21.

"Two hundred twenty thousand Americans could have eaten for the entire month of October if it were not for this 42 million dollars in fraud," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. "We have indicted men and women in 13 different districts just in the past seven weeks, and that effort will continue for as long as it takes." Prosecutors say more than 40 defendants have been charged in recent weeks for defrauding SNAP and related programs.

The case the officials kept returning to belongs to a social media influencer who performs as Shawty Dred. Prosecutors indicted him earlier this month on 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of food stamp fraud, and they accuse him of stealing more than 4 million dollars in benefits. Vance said the man placed almost 9,000 calls and gathered benefits that were spread across 350 accounts into his own hands, then spent the money on private jet seats and jewelry he showed off online. "SNAP exists to help hungry children eat. It does not exist to provide private jets to a guy like Shawty Dred," Vance said. "Part of what helped us identify Shawty Dred is the guy's posting Instagram videos, and we are able to connect the money that he is making with the money that he is then using to go and buy seats on private jets and all these other things." The influencer, who has more than 2 million Instagram followers, filmed himself setting fire to cash. Agriculture Department Inspector General John Walk drew a laugh at the podium with the defendant's surname, saying there is nothing new under the sun.

The charges are allegations. None of the defendants described on Wednesday has been convicted in these cases, and each will answer the indictments in court. The picture with this story is an illustration.