IT’S FRAUD ALL THE WAY DOWN: A third of federal agencies in audit lacked regular fraud monitoring or evaluation.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a technical appendix to its 2015 fraud risk management guidance this month, aimed at helping federal agencies strengthen how they prevent fraud in U.S. government programs. The reason? Many still lack basic safeguards.

Previous GAO reports have revealed the extent of fraud across the federal government.

A report from 2024 showed that the U.S. loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud, based on data from 2018-2022.

“Fraud prevention, including deterrence, decreases the need to chase after and recover stolen funds,” read the latest report. “Demonstrating the value of fraud prevention can help inform antifraud resource allocation decisions.”

The new report builds on GAO’s 2015 Fraud Risk Framework, which outlines best practices for preventing, detecting and responding to fraud in federal programs.

The framework is organized into four components: establishing an antifraud culture; assessing fraud risks; designing and implementing control activities; and evaluating outcomes and adapting efforts.

GAO’s new technical appendix focuses specifically on the fourth component, which is how agencies can systematically evaluate the effectiveness of their fraud risk management activities and adapt them as needed.

Components five, six, and seven: Prosecute, prosecute, prosecute.