US Taxpayers Currently Lose Up To $500B Annually To Fraud; Report

Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,

A new report published by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) shows federal taxpayers are losing up to $521 billion annually to fraud and improper payments.

According to Just the News, the report estimates that improper payments by the federal government have totaled about $3 trillion since 2003.

Improper payments are defined by the federal government as payments in the incorrect amount, payments to the wrong person or someone who is not eligible to receive the payment, or payments that lack documentation confirming their accuracy, according to the FGA.

Liesel Crocker, the report’s author and senior research fellow at FGA, told The Center Square, “Fraud against federal programs now runs about $521 billion a year, or seven percent of everything Washington spends. Only five federal agencies have bigger budgets than that.”

Crocker continued, “And that’s just the fraud we know about. Of more than 2,200 federal payment programs, only 64 are reviewed for improper payments each year.”

$521 billion is stolen from federal programs every year – 7% of all federal spending. That money was meant for the truly needy, and it is going to criminals instead. New FGA research from @LieselCrocker. https://t.co/lfrSRacSxM

— The FGA (@TheFGA) September 21, 2026

Much of the fraud is funneled through federal programs like Medicaid, food stamps, Medicare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and a “pandemic grant for concert venues,” according to Crocker.

Crocker explained, “Fraud shows up where the checks are easiest to get.”

The report highlights that state-level welfare and administration agencies often resist federal oversight or fail to share enrollment and eligibility data needed to catch fraud early.

The FGA says there are more than 8,000 fraud cases being prosecuted by attorneys general across the country, which the report called just a “small fraction” of the fraud that is being perpetrated.

According to the FGA, 21 states are refusing to cooperate with federal efforts to vet their food stamp programs for fraud, while 29 states are cooperating and discovering ineligible enrollees and people collecting fraudulent benefits.

The report applauded President Donald Trump’s War on Fraud and other anti-fraud efforts, and noted that more needs to be done – both by states and the U.S. Congress.

According to the report: “The bottom line: Congress and states should build on President Trump’s efforts to crack down on fraud and corruption and save taxpayers billions.”