Federal payments worth almost one hundred million Dollars were prevented by the United States Treasury Department from going to dead individuals, according to a news report by Breitbart News. This is part of the ongoing campaign of the Trump administration to cut waste, fraud and the abuse in federal spending.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt of the Breitbart report. Some parts in boldface…
The U.S. Treasury Department stopped nearly $100 million in federal payments that have been going out to deceased individuals after establishing a government-wide payment verification process last year.
The department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service found that the money was set to be sent to “ghosts” after reviewing 885 million payments totaling nearly $2.7 trillion, according to a report by the New York Post.
Since March 2025, the Trump administration’s screening of the funds has reportedly uncovered more than 4,900 payments worth about $99 million that were associated with dead payees.
Payments intended for deceased individuals — often a red flag suggesting fraud — were returned to the originating federal agencies for review before any of the money was paid out, the Treasury Department said.
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.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you delighted that almost $100 million were prevented from being paid to dead recipients? How deep do you think the fraud really is within the federal payment system?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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@carlocarrasco.com Social Security pays a month in arrears. The payee must be alive the entire previous month to qualify for benefit. It is an average of two weeks for the correct department to receive it , depending on how organized your funeral director is.
It is normal and common for Social Security to take back a months payment after a person dies.
This accounts for this claim.
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It's always a good thing when the government finds a way to stop wasting taxpayer money. But…
This administration has shown its willingness to waste money at a scale a few orders or magnitude greater than this, so can they legitimately crow about these savings?
There was a time when $100M was a lot of money. Not any more.
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