The federal government has been sending money to dead people — and it just put a stop to nearly $100 million worth of it.
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The U.S. Treasury Department reviewed hundreds of millions of federal payments and found that roughly $99 million was headed to people who were already deceased. That is a major red flag for fraud, because payments going to dead people often mean someone is gaming the system to pocket money they should not have.
So how did they catch it? The government already had a program called “Do Not Pay” that checks whether someone is actually eligible to receive federal money before it is sent. Last year, after President Trump ordered his administration to crack down on waste and fraud, the Treasury Department expanded that program and added new tools on top of it. One of the biggest helps was getting access to the Social Security Administration’s full list of people who have died — something the government previously did not have full access to.
The department added that it has used the federal government’s Do Not Pay program — which verifies a recipient’s identity, eligibility, and banking information before sending out federal payments — alongside other, newer verification tools.
Last year, after President Donald Trump ordered his administration to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending, the Treasury Department “significantly expanded” its use of these verification systems, the agency noted.
“Treasury has delivered on a key promise of @POTUS’ mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury and strengthen the integrity of the federal payment system,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a Tuesday X post.
Earlier this year, Trump signed a law giving the Treasury Department permanent access to the Social Security Administration’s full death records. In total, the government expects this effort to save taxpayers $330 million over time. That is real money — money that belongs to hardworking Americans, not to fraudsters cashing checks in a dead person’s name.
This is the kind of government accountability that should not be controversial. Pray that our leaders would continue to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to them — and that those who have taken advantage of the system would be held accountable.
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(Excerpt from Breitbart. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
