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The General Services Administration says it has identified more than $13 billion in suspected fraud involving roughly 1,000 federal contractors, the largest contractor count and dollar total ever flagged by the agency, as the Trump administration expands its government-wide effort to uncover misuse of taxpayer funds.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The General Services Administration says a sweeping review of federal contracting has uncovered more than $13 billion in suspected fraud involving approximately 1,000 contractors, marking the highest dollar amount and largest number of contractors ever identified by the agency in such an effort.
The findings emerged from a review launched in March as part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to detect fraud, waste and abuse across the federal government, according to an agency announcement reported by Breitbart News.
GSA officials said investigators analyzed federal contracting data, publicly available reports and information from agency inspectors general to identify potentially fraudulent activity.
The review covers a wide range of suspected misconduct, including COVID-19 spending, misuse of the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, contractor eligibility violations, bid rigging, cybersecurity-related false claims, bribery and other alleged abuses involving federal procurement.
GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said the findings should serve as a warning to contractors attempting to obtain government money through fraud.
“Let this serve as a warning to any bad actors thinking of stealing from the federal government: we will catch you, we will work with law enforcement to ensure your arrest, and we will do everything in our power to help recover every dollar you stole,” Forst said.
Forst said fraudulent contractors do more than take money from taxpayers. He argued that companies that falsify records, misrepresent their qualifications or otherwise manipulate procurement rules also disadvantage legitimate businesses competing honestly for federal work.
“Anyone who lies their way into receiving taxpayer dollars is putting their business, their reputation, and their freedom at risk,” he said.
The agency highlighted several cases as examples of the types of schemes it says can distort the federal procurement system.
One involved approximately $73 million in suspected fraud tied to contracts reserved for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and other qualifying small businesses.
Broadway Electric Inc., Cornerstone Contracting Inc., Broadway CEO John Oehler and Cornerstone President Christian Blake agreed to pay $21.3 million to resolve allegations brought under the False Claims Act.
Federal officials alleged that Broadway and Cornerstone improperly used qualifying small businesses as pass-through entities from April 2017 through May 2025 to obtain federal contracts that otherwise would not have been available to them.
According to the government, Broadway and Cornerstone were responsible for identifying contract opportunities, preparing and pricing bids, arranging bonding, selecting subcontractors and personnel, and exercising primary control over the work and financial aspects of the contracts.
The qualifying small businesses, meanwhile, generally received fixed payments equal to between 1% and 3% of the value of the contracts, according to the government.
The allegations centered on whether companies that did not qualify for certain set-aside programs effectively controlled contracts that were supposed to benefit eligible small businesses.
Another case cited by GSA involved approximately $44 million in suspected fraud connected to Sierra Nevada Company LLC.
Sierra Nevada agreed to pay $7.75 million to resolve allegations arising from its employment of Michael Henry while Henry was also a federal employee assigned to Joint Staff/J6.
Federal officials alleged that Henry worked as a consultant for Sierra Nevada from July 2019 through June 2020 while simultaneously participating in three government contracts awarded to the company.
Those contracts involved the U.S. Army, the General Services Administration and U.S. Special Operations Command.
According to the government, Henry used his federal position to evaluate and obtain approval for Sierra Nevada products while also recommending the company’s products in his capacity as a paid consultant.
Henry separately pleaded guilty in 2025 to a criminal charge involving acts affecting a personal financial interest.
The two cases illustrate the kinds of conduct GSA says can undermine federal contracting programs, particularly when companies or individuals conceal conflicts of interest or improperly gain access to contracts reserved for specific classes of businesses.
The agency said suspected cases identified through the broader $13 billion review are being referred to the GSA Office of Inspector General or the Department of Justice for further investigation.
A GSA fraud flag or referral does not by itself establish criminal or civil liability. Individual cases may require additional investigation, litigation or adjudication before wrongdoing is legally established.
The scale of the review, however, is significant.
GSA said the approximately 1,000 contractors and more than $13 billion in suspected fraud represent records for the agency, suggesting that the current effort is examining federal procurement activity on a substantially larger scale than previous GSA fraud reviews.
Scott Brady, executive director of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, said the findings demonstrate the importance of involving multiple agencies in the administration’s anti-fraud initiative.
“Stopping all federal fraud requires the work of every federal agency, and the GSA has more than stepped up to the task,” Brady said.
“Today’s announcement shows just how broken our federal procurement system was before President Donald Trump, Vice President Vance, and Administrator Forst,” Brady added.
The March review is part of the administration’s government-wide effort to identify contractors, programs and payment systems vulnerable to fraud and recover taxpayer money where violations can be established.
GSA’s role is particularly significant because the agency oversees extensive federal purchasing and contracting operations used across the government.
By examining contracting records alongside inspector-general findings and public information, the agency says it has identified suspected schemes ranging from false eligibility claims and procurement manipulation to bribery, conflicts of interest and cybersecurity-related misrepresentations.
The more than $13 billion figure represents suspected fraud identified for additional scrutiny rather than an amount already proven stolen or recovered. The ultimate financial impact will depend on the results of investigations, settlements, criminal prosecutions and other enforcement actions stemming from the referrals.
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