For years, fraud has been dismissed as a right-wing talking point from the Trump administration. A new report from state financial officers makes that claim harder to ignore.
Across 28 states, auditors say they identified and stopped $5.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse in a single year.
Those findings span Medicaid eligibility systems, local government budgets, payroll controls, and nonprofit oversight. The money did not disappear into thin air. It was tracked, documented, and stopped once someone chose to look.
The State Financial Officers Foundation’s 2025 Oversight Report lays out what 40 state treasurers, auditors, and comptrollers say they uncovered after digging into eligibility systems, payment flows, and local government spending. The document puts numbers on the page.
“In 2025, SFOF members: Protected over $28 billion in state funds. Stopped approximately $5.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse. Oversaw $22.3 billion in investment earnings and unclaimed property returned directly to citizens.”
The report does not label the full $28 billion as fraud. It isolates $5.7 billion in stopped waste, fraud, and abuse, separating it from $22.3 billion in investment earnings and unclaimed property returned to citizens.
But $5.7 billion in one year across 28 states is not a fluke. That is what shows up when someone finally asks where the money actually went.
For example, in Florida, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ office identified spending levels that no one had seriously investigated before.
“In just five months, his office identified an astonishing $1.86 billion in excessive local government spending.”
That money was not hidden. It was simply not being questioned.
In Kentucky, auditors went directly after Medicaid eligibility controls.
“Uncovering more than $836 million in taxpayer-funded payments made without benefiting eligible Kentucky recipients due to systemic eligibility and verification failures within the program.”
Different state. Different program. Same result. When scrutiny tightened, dollars surfaced.
Read More: 'That Is Stopping Today': VP Vance, Dr. Oz Announce Pause in Medicaid Payments to MN Over Fraud
It's About Time: U.S. Department of Labor Strike Team Descends on CA, Newsom to Investigate UI Fraud
Other money was also found in North Carolina: State Auditor Dave Boliek discovered more than $1 billion in lapsed salaries due to long-term vacancies in the state. In Utah, auditor Tina Cannon identified more than $518 million in fraud, waste, and abuse across agencies and nonprofits receiving state and federal funds.
This is not one rogue program. It is not one state. It is not one category of spending. It is a pattern.
In his letter to Vice President J.D. Vance, SFOF President O.J. Oleka wrote that the group’s members are “allies already on the battlefield” and stand ready to assist the administration in protecting taxpayer dollars.
For years, Democrats and much of the political left have treated fraud warnings from the Trump administration as ideological posturing. But audits are not ideological. If billions surface across state systems once officials decide to look, dismissing it as a right-wing fixation is willful blindness.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member