State financial officers protect, recover $28B in tax dollars in 2025

By Tate Miller
The Center Square

Conservative state treasurers, auditors and comptrollers protected and recovered $28 billion in taxpayer dollars from “waste, fraud, and abuse” in 2025, according to a report from the State Financial Officers Foundation.

CEO of State Financial Officers Foundation OJ Oleka told The Center Square that the “revelations” in his organization’s report “underscore the fact that accountability matters and that it does not come automatically.”

“Simply put, taxpayer dollars do not protect themselves,” Oleka said.

“In every instance where fraud was stopped, waste was exposed, and money was saved for taxpayers, it was because a principled financial officer demonstrated leadership, vigilance, and courage,” Oleka said. “They upheld their fiduciary duty and went above and beyond.’

“In the places where fraud was able to spread, proactive oversight and accountability could’ve made a difference,” Oleka said.

When asked what can be done to prevent fraud and corruption in the first place, Oleka said: “At least one thing states can do is elect a strong financial officer willing to be a relentless watchdog over public funds.”

Oleka said “the fraud crisis in Minnesota could very well have been prevented had the state not abolished its Treasurer role years ago.”

Oleka told The Center Square that the State Financial Officers Foundation’s report “underscores why, according to surveys, state financial officers are the most trusted elected officials on money matters — more than Congress, state legislators, or governors.

“Stopping fraud is an important tool to improve affordability and reduce the national debt,” Oleka said. “Eliminating fraud and wasteful spending means the government prints less money, which means a higher value for everyone’s dollar.”

According to the report, in 2025, State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) members “protected over $28 billion in state funds.”

SFOF is a “cohort of 40 officers from 28 states,” as explained in the report.

These SFOF members “stopped approximately $5.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse,” and “oversaw $22.3 billion in investment earnings and unclaimed property returned directly to citizens” in 2025.

For example, according to SFOF, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia “identified approximately $1.86 billion in excessive or wasteful local government spending.”

Meanwhile, Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball “identified approximately $1 billion in Medicaid waste and lapsed education funds.”

In a third of dozens of examples of state financial officers exposing fraud and stewarding tax dollars, SFOF revealed that Utah State Treasurer and SFOF national chairman Marlo Oaks oversaw “investment earnings of $1.5 billion and returning ~$43 million in unclaimed property.”

In a statement, Marlo Oaks told The Center Square that the report “makes one thing clear: when you remove independent financial oversight, taxpayers pay the price.”

“The massive fraud uncovered in Minnesota is a stark reminder of what happens when accountability is weakened,” Oaks said.

“Across the country, state financial officers are doing the job taxpayers expect, identifying billions in waste, fraud, and abuse, generating strong investment results, and returning billions in unclaimed property to rightful owners,” Oaks said.

“That’s not partisan; it’s fiduciary duty,” Oaks said. “America’s state financial officers will continue to expose fiscal misconduct and protect the hard-earned dollars of the American people.”