Democratic Auditor Takes Own Party to Court After $12M Fraud and 72% Vote for Audit

A Democratic state auditor in Massachusetts is taking her own party’s leadership to the state’s highest court after uncovering nearly $12 million in alleged fraud in public assistance programs and being blocked from auditing the Legislature.

That is rare.

Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, a Democrat and former member of both the state House and Senate, has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court seeking to enforce a 2024 voter-approved ballot measure authorizing her office to audit the Legislature.

The fight is not just about one audit. It is about whether a voter-approved transparency law applies to the most powerful politicians in the state, including members of the auditor’s own party.

The mandate from voters was not narrow.

“72% of the general public, the voting population in the state, went out and said that they want increased transparency and accountability via this office conducting an audit of the state legislature.”

Seventy-two percent support in a politically polarized environment is decisive. Voters across party lines approved the measure, including both Democrats and Republicans, according to DiZoglio.

The lawsuit follows findings from her office that identified substantial fraud in public assistance programs in fiscal year 2025.

The Massachusetts State Auditor’s Office identified “nearly $12 million in fraud” in fiscal year 2025 alone across several public assistance programs.

Twelve million dollars is not a rounding error. And it is the auditor’s job to follow the money.

Earlier this year, DiZoglio notified legislative leaders that she intended to conduct a performance audit. According to her account, House and Senate leadership refused to provide the documents requested. She also stated that the attorney general declined to intervene.

When asked why lawmakers were resisting, she framed the issue plainly.

“What are they hiding? If there’s nothing to hide, open up the doors. Let the sun shine in. Let’s do this audit.”

She has also emphasized that the audit was explicitly endorsed across the political spectrum.

“This is something that 72% of voters came out to support, crossing party lines… You had progressive Democrats joining together with conservative Republicans… saying that they want this audit to get done.”

DiZoglio argued that Massachusetts is the only state in the nation where the Legislature, the governor’s office, and the court system exempt themselves from the state’s public records law. The newly approved audit authority, she says, would allow access to financial receipts and state contracts funded by taxpayers.

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The resistance from Democratic leadership has been direct. The attorney general has asserted that DiZoglio lacks the authority to file the lawsuit and has questioned whether the audit would infringe on the constitutional separation of powers. Legislative leaders have maintained that existing independent audits already provide sufficient oversight.

DiZoglio disagrees and is asking the court to compel compliance.

“The Constitution is there to protect the people, not the politicians.”

In a moment when debates over waste, fraud, and abuse are often framed as partisan talking points, a Democrat taking her own leadership to court over oversight stands out.

Even if the $12 million figure does not rival some of the larger fraud cases seen nationally, the principle is the same. Taxpayer-funded programs require oversight. Voter-approved laws require compliance. And transparency should not depend on party.

Now the question before Massachusetts’ highest court is straightforward. If 72 percent of voters approved an audit, can lawmakers simply refuse to cooperate?