Where is the Money Going?
VA Overpaid $1 Billion in Disability Evaluations
The Veterans Benefits Administration gave out more money in disability payments than it should have over a span of 18 years, costing the government about $1 billion.
According to the inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, ... read more
Government Recovers Record $4 Billion in Medical Fraud
From doctors committing identity theft to drug companies illegally marketing their products, the U.S. government recovered a record-setting $4 billion from a variety of medical-related fraud committed in 2010.
In one case, a doctor stole the... read more
Taxpayers Spent $132 Million to Defend Fannie Mae and Its Executives
The U.S. government has spent $132 million so far defending Fannie Mae in court, following the September 2008 takeover of the teetering mortgage underwriter and its counterpart, Freddie Mac. Of this total, $24.2 million alone has gone towards le... read more
Global AIDS, TB and Malaria Fund Plagued by Major Corruption
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has wasted millions of dollars donated by governments and celebrities to help the developing world.
The Fund was created as an alternative to the United Nations, which long has been acc... read more
Military Spent $193 Million to Kick out Gay Troops
Kicking homosexuals out of the armed services cost the government more than $190 million over a five-year period, due to the expense of removing gays and lesbians and training their replacements.
The Government Accountability Office in a new... read more
Goldman Sachs’ Elite 475 Reap Billions in Personal Profits
Whoever they are, they sure are making a lot of money. That best describes the inner, very rich circle of Goldman Sachs, where a group of 475 partners collectively makes billions of dollars while many remain anonymous.
Unlike other Wall Stre... read more
Health Insurance Companies Invest Government Medicare Payments before Using Them
Medicare, one of the most costly U.S. government programs, has been paying health insurance companies in advance of medical services, allowing them to profit from this practice by investing the money.
By “playing the float,” insurers collect... read more
GlaxoSmithKline Sets Aside $3.4 Billion to Cover Legal Costs
Pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline is preparing to spend $3.4 billion to pay for investigations and lawsuits related to its diabetes drug Avandia.
The money—equal to the company’s 2010 fourth quarter profits—comes after allocating $... read more
Big 6 Banks Worth 64% of Nation’s GDP…up from 17% in 1995
How big is too big when it comes to banks? Maybe when a mere half dozen institutions are worth more than 60% of the American economy.
The latest financial data from the third quarter of last year shows the assets of the six largest banks—JPM... read more
U.S. Gives up on Billion-Dollar Boeing Virtual Border Fence
After spending more than $1 billion on an incomplete project, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to terminate SBInet, a plan to install a virtual border fence along the American Southwest. But the government is not giving up on the ... read more
How Did a Marine Corps Food Contract Grow to $1.2 Billion?
The Department of Defense is on the hook for paying more than $1 billion just to feed the U.S. Marine Corps, now that a contract with a France-based company has swelled with added costs.
What was supposed to cost $881 million is now looking ... read more
Lockheed Martin Reaches Deeply into U.S. Government
It’s not so much a matter of what Lockheed Martin does for the U.S. government, but what it doesn’t do. The super-sized defense contractor does, to say the least, a lot of business with Uncle Sam, who has been very generous towards the company…a... read more
IRS Awarded Contracts to 20 Companies that Owed Taxes
Not only does the federal government not bother to check if a company owes federal taxes before awarding a contract—but even the IRS fails to perform this duty when it hires businesses to perform a service for the agency. In both instances, fede... read more
New Wall Street Investment Opportunity: Whistleblowers
Wall Street may soon become as much a foe as it has been a friend of the pharmaceutical industry. After spending decades pumping up the profits of Big Pharma by trading its shares, wealthy investors are now toying with the idea of financing whis... read more
Big Defense Contractors Won Year-End Anti-Ethics Victory
The New Year did not bring newer, tougher conflict-of-interest rules for companies working for the Department of Defense, as was feared by industry. Instead of imposing revamped regulations for defense contractors, the Pentagon decided to water ... read more
State Revenues Plunge; Grants and Spending Up
Despite a substantial drop in tax revenues during 2009, state governments managed to increase spending modestly, perhaps in part because the federal government gave out more in grants that year.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that state reve... read more