The Trump administration says it has uncovered $1.22 billion in suspected fraud tied to five COVID-era HHS contracts that kept paying out for years after the pandemic emergency officially ended, according to a new report from Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force.
Why it matters: It’s the latest entry in the administration’s widening hunt for pandemic-era waste — this time targeting contracts, including vaccine-related agreements, that kept flowing under the Biden administration well after the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ended in May 2023.
Driving the news:
Vance’s anti-fraud task force, working with the General Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, flagged $1.22 billion in suspected fraud across five COVID-era HHS contracts.
The flagged contracts continued being funded even after the federal COVID-19 public health emergency officially ended in 2023.
GSA has suspended payments to the flagged contractors and referred the suspected fraud to law enforcement for further investigation.
A separate $41 million in fraudulent payments was also identified and stopped.
By the numbers:
$1.22 billion — suspected fraud identified across the five flagged contracts.
$41 million — additional fraudulent payments separately halted.
93% — share of the flagged contract funding that remains undistributed.
$245.7 billion — total fraud the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts say they’ve uncovered to date.
$62.9 billion — annualized fraudulent payments the task force says it has prevented.
What they’re saying: “The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars,” GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said. White House Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady said funding that kept flowing after the emergency ended amounted to “a free pass” for contractors.
What’s next:
Payments to the flagged contractors remain suspended pending further review.
The suspected fraud cases have been referred to law enforcement for possible prosecution.
Recovery efforts continue as part of the task force’s broader, ongoing tally of pandemic-era fraud.
The bottom line: More than three years after the COVID emergency ended, the Trump administration keeps finding contracts still quietly drawing on it — and Vance’s task force shows no sign of slowing its search for pandemic-era money still flowing out the door.
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