Federal Reserve (FED) · Donald Trump · Fortune Technology
Nonprofit fraud isn’t surging
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Nonprofit fraud is in the news a lot these days.
Key facts
- For example, a charity called “ Providing Hope VA ” raised over $9 million in 2023 to provide services to homeless veterans
- Only about 355 people worked to monitor charities in 48 out of 56 U.S. states and territories, according to the most recent comprehensive survey of state regulators from the Urban Institute
- The IRS audited around 660 nonprofits that filed 990 forms in 2024 out of the nation’s estimated 1.9 million tax-exempt organizations
- The Department of Justice says it reached more than $6.8 billion in settlements and judgments in 2025 tied to the False Claims Act, the highest on record
Summary
Federal investigators in Minnesota prosecuted one of the largest alleged COVID-19 pandemic fraud schemes, in which several nonprofits and individuals are accused of stealing about $250 million from a federally funded child nutrition program. The defendants were found guilty in 2025, three years after the investigation began, of diverting funds by faking meal counts and submitting false reimbursement claims, then spending the money they got on luxury homes and cars. In April 2026, the Department of Justice under the Trump administration indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights nonprofit, on fraud charges that the center denies. The Department of Justice says it reached more than $6.8 billion in settlements and judgments in 2025 tied to the False Claims Act, the highest on record.