A new report from the State Financial Officers Foundation claims conservative state officials recovered $28 billion in taxpayer funds in 2025, amid preparations for a congressional hearing on a major fraud case in Minnesota. The timing underscores Republican efforts to highlight governance differences between states. President Trump has cited the Minnesota incident as a key example of systemic fraud.
The State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) released a report on Tuesday detailing efforts by 40 conservative treasurers, auditors, and comptrollers in 28 states. According to the organization, these officials recovered or returned $28 billion in taxpayer funds during 2025 by addressing waste, fraud, abuse, unclaimed property, and investment mismanagement. This includes $5.7 billion uncovered in waste, fraud, and abuse, plus $22.3 billion from investment earnings and unclaimed property programs. The report, which SFOF plans to issue annually, highlights specific cases, such as Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia identifying about $1.86 billion in excessive local government spending, and Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball noting roughly $1 billion in Medicaid waste and lapsed education funds.
SFOF CEO OJ Oleka sent a letter with the report to Vice President JD Vance and Associate Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald, the latter nominated by President Trump as the first Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement. Oleka pledged state-level support for federal anti-fraud initiatives. This comes just before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability questions Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison about oversight lapses in a pandemic-era fraud scheme involving a federally funded child nutrition program.
During his State of the Union address, Trump described Minnesota as a “stunning example” of systemic fraud, claiming billions in taxpayer funds were siphoned through fraudulent schemes using COVID-relief money meant for low-income children. Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals, with court filings detailing large improper sums, though exact totals are part of ongoing proceedings. In 1998, Minnesota voters approved a constitutional amendment abolishing the elected treasurer position, which Oleka called a factor diffusing financial oversight.
Republican Minnesota State Senator Jordan Rasmusson stated that taxpayers “deserve answers on why billions of taxpayer dollars were stolen through fraudulent schemes under the failed leadership of Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison,” emphasizing federal intervention's role in prosecutions. Oleka described the case as “a criminal heist of historic proportions.” Supporters of Walz and Ellison argue the fraud was detected through state and federal cooperation, with prosecutions showing the system's effectiveness, and that new oversight measures have been added since the scandal surfaced.
The report positions red states' aggressive policing against what it calls lax oversight in places like Minnesota, framing the upcoming hearing as a clash of narratives on accountability.
