The General Services Administration (GSA), in collaboration with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, announced on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026, that they have uncovered more than $13 billion in suspected fraud since the task force began its work in March of this year. The fraudulent activities were identified through analysis of governmentwide contracting data, public reporting, and inspector general enforcement information.

A few weeks after the task force's creation, GSA and the task force identified nearly $6.3 billion in government contracts potentially awarded to fraudulent businesses. A senior White House official criticized the previous administration for allowing taxpayer dollars to be disbursed without verifying the legitimacy of contractors and vendors, calling it "a disgrace and yet another example of how the previous administration flouted basic anti-fraud guardrails."

The Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division has also uncovered approximately $350 million in alleged fraud across seven southeastern states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina—resulting in charges in those states. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald convened more than 50 officials from these states to announce the findings and addressed why such fraud had gone unnoticed until now.

Fraud Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady stated, "Stopping all federal fraud requires the work of every federal agency, and the GSA has more than stepped up to the task. Today's announcement shows just how broken our federal procurement system was before President Donald Trump, Vice President Vance, and Administrator Forst."

The administration's intensified focus on fraud followed revelations by YouTuber Nick Shirley, who exposed several Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota that were not providing services despite receiving federal funds.

GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst warned, "Let this serve as a warning to any bad actors thinking of stealing from the federal government: we will catch you, we will work with law enforcement to ensure your arrest, and we will do everything in our power to help recover every dollar you stole."

Sources