Report: U.S. Taxpayers Currently Lose Up to $500B Annually to Fraud › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
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EXCERPT:
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
