No taxation without receipts
$233–521 billionlost to fraud every year
That's the federal government's own estimate. Below is every case big enough to matter — sourced to the auditors, inspectors general and courts that found it — and a map of where the receipts stop.
And that only counts the crimes. Soft fraud — paying without proof, overpaying, paying twice, never collecting — runs into the trillions.
Since you opened this page, at GAO's estimated rate$0–$0Based on GAO's estimate of $233B–$521B a year (2018–2022 data)
FraudBadFederal spending
Fiscal year 2026
Fiscal year 2026
- Federal spending, FY2026$7,395,799,983,313↗
- Lost to fraud each year (GAO est.)$233B–$521B↗
- Paid in error, FY2025$186,000,000,000↗
- Pentagon audits passed0 of 8↗
- Grant dollars with no local trail74%↗
- Itemized receipt████████████████
fraudbad.comNo taxation without receipts
$186B
paid in error by federal agencies in fiscal 2025
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Apr 27, 20260 for 8
Pentagon financial audits passed since 2018
Defense News, Dec 19, 202574%
of federal grant dollars can't be traced to a local place
Project On Government Oversight, Jul 21, 2026$2.98T
paid wrong or without proof since 2004 — the soft fraud nobody adds up
PaymentAccuracy.gov (OMB and CFO Council); totals summed by FraudBad, Nov 9, 202643 cases
The cases
Every case here was found by an auditor, an inspector general, a prosecutor, a court or the agency that paid the money. Each page shows the numbers, where they came from, and how sure anyone can be.
Hard fraudFederal · All federal programs
$233–521billion a year
What the government loses to fraud every year
Estimated
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Hard fraudFederal · All 50 states
$100–135billion
Stolen from pandemic unemployment benefits
Estimated
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Hard fraudFederal · Small Business Administration
$200billion+
Pandemic small-business loans that went to likely fraud
Estimated
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Hard fraudFederal · Internal Revenue Service
$283billion paid
A pandemic tax credit nobody measured for fraud
Estimated
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Hard fraudFederal · Medicare
$10.6billion billed
Fake catheter claims using a million stolen identities
Charged
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Hard fraudFederal · 56 federal districts
$6.5billion
455 people charged in one health care fraud sweep
Charged
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Hard fraudState · Minnesota
$18billion billed
Minnesota programs where prosecutors say half may be fraud
Charged
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Hard fraudState · California
$20billion+
Unemployment money California paid to fraudsters
Confirmed
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Hard fraudState · Michigan
$8.5billion
Fraudulent jobless claims Michigan likely paid
Estimated
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Hard fraudState · Arizona
$2.8billion
Fake addiction treatment billed to Arizona Medicaid
Charged
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Hard fraudState · Washington
$550–650million
Unemployment money stolen in weeks
Confirmed
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Hard fraudState · Minnesota
$250million
Stolen from meals for hungry kids
Confirmed
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Hard fraudState · Mississippi
$77million
Welfare money for the poorest, steered elsewhere
Confirmed
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Hard fraudLocal · Los Angeles
$600million
Los Angeles hospices cut off over suspected fraud
Payments frozen
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Hard fraudFederal · Department of Justice
$6.8billion clawed back, a record
What the government won back from fraud in court
Settled
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Hard fraudFederal · SNAP, run by the states for USDA
$320million stolen and replaced
Food benefits skimmed straight off EBT cards
Confirmed
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Soft fraudFederal · All reporting federal programs
$2.98trillion since 2004
Paid out without proof, year after year
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · Medicare Advantage
$76billion in 2026
What Medicare overpays private insurance plans
Settled
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Soft fraudFederal · U.S. health care, public and private
$760–935billion a year
Wasted in American health care every year
Estimated
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Soft fraudFederal · Internal Revenue Service
$696billion a year
Taxes owed that never get paid
Estimated
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Soft fraudFederal · Congress and federal agencies
$132–251billion left on the table
Savings the government's auditors found — and nobody took
Fix ignored
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Soft fraudFederal · Every federal agency owed money
$217billion owed and overdue
Money owed to the government that it isn't collecting
Never collected
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Soft fraudFederal · 64 federal programs
$186billion in one year
Paid out in error in fiscal 2025
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · All reporting federal programs
$123billion paid wrong
The data to stop it existed. Nobody checked.
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · Every federal agency that buys things
$162billion in one month
The September rush: spend it before it expires
Measured
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Soft fraudState · California High-Speed Rail Authority
$126–231billion, from $33B promised
California's bullet train: $33 billion promised, up to $231 billion now
Over budget
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Soft fraudFederal · USAspending.gov
$160.4billion with no description
Giant contracts the public can't read
Can't be checked
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Soft fraudFederal · U.S. Air Force
$141billion, 81% over estimate
The nuclear missile that's 81% over budget
Over budget
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Soft fraudFederal · Department of Defense
$122billion in new cost growth
Weapons programs that went over budget this year
Over budget
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Soft fraudFederal · Federal agencies
$100billion+ a year
Federal tech money spent keeping old systems alive
Fix ignored
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Soft fraudFederal · Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP
$95.5billion
Health care money paid with no proof it was right
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · Department of Defense
$4.65trillion in assets
Eight audits. Eight failures.
Can't be checked
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Soft fraudFederal · Social Security Administration
$23billion not yet recovered
Social Security overpayments that haven't come back
Never collected
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Soft fraudFederal · Small Business Administration
$10.1billion paid wrong or unproven
Venue grants: 69% paid wrong or without proof
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · Afghanistan
$26–29billion
Lost to waste, fraud and abuse rebuilding Afghanistan
Estimated
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Soft fraudFederal · Internal Revenue Service
$28.1billion
Refundable tax credits paid out in error
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · SNAP, run by the states
$10.1billion
Food aid paid in the wrong amount
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudFederal · Department of Housing and Urban Development
$4.35billion HUD can't verify
Rent subsidies HUD can't verify
Can't be checked
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Soft fraudLocal · Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation
$10.1billion, double the plan
Honolulu's rail line: twice the cost, a mile shorter
Over budget
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Soft fraudState · MTA, New York City
$7.7billion for 1.5 miles
Second Avenue subway: $7.7 billion for a mile and a half
Over budget
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Soft fraudFederal · Medicare Part D
$3.6billion in one year
Medicare paid far more for cheap generics than an online pharmacy charges
Estimated
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Soft fraudState · New York
$11billion+
Unemployment money New York overpaid
Paid without proof
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Soft fraudLocal · Los Angeles
$2.3billion
Homelessness money LA couldn't fully trace
Can't be checked
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ConfirmedProven in court, admitted in a guilty plea, or confirmed by the agency that paid it.
ChargedProsecutors filed charges.
SettledMoney was paid to settle the government's claims, without an admission of wrongdoing.
EstimatedAn auditor, inspector general or the agency itself estimated the fraud.
Paid without proofOfficially counted as paid in error or without the records to prove it was right.
Payments frozenOfficials stopped payment over suspected fraud.
Can't be checkedThe books or the spending can't be verified, so fraud can't be ruled in or out.
Over budgetOfficially measured cost growth or delay beyond what was promised.
Fix ignoredA watchdog found the waste and the fix.
MeasuredFraudBad counted it ourselves from official government data.
Never collectedMoney the government is owed and hasn't collected, by its own count.
Federal · State · Local
Where the receipts stop
You can see the total. Follow a dollar down and the trail goes dark: who got paid next, what was bought, and whether it ever showed up.
Federal$7.4 trillion spent in FY2026
StateRun the biggest federal programs
Local91,729 counties, cities, towns and districts
The total
Visible
Partly
Partly
Who got it
Partly
Partly
Partly
Where it landed
Partly
Dark
Visible
Who they paid next
Dark
Dark
Dark
What it bought
Dark
Dark
Dark
Proof it was delivered
Dark
Dark
Dark