Vice President JD Vance's anti-fraud task force and the General Services Administration said Thursday they identified $1.22 billion in suspected fraud across five Department of Health and Human Services COVID-era contracts that continued disbursing money after pandemic emergency authorities ended.

COVID-Era Contracts Continued After Emergency Ended

GSA said the COVID-19 national emergency ended in 2023 and related acquisition flexibilities were canceled later that year, yet some contractors continued receiving funds. HHS separately ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.

"The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars," GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said. The agency said it will stop improper payments, refer suspected wrongdoing to law enforcement and seek recovery where appropriate.

The announcement does not establish criminal liability. GSA describes the findings as suspected fraud and did not identify the five contractors or announce criminal charges. Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady said the review also stopped $41 million in additional payments.

GSA Expands Broader Federal Procurement Crackdown

President Donald Trump created the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud by executive order on March 16, naming Vance as chairman and directing a government-wide crackdown involving HHS, Treasury and Justice.

The COVID-contract review expands a broader procurement push. GSA said in August that it had identified more than $13 billion in suspected contractor fraud since March using contracting data, public reporting and inspector-general information.

Justice Department Pursues Separate Pandemic Cases

Federal prosecutors are pursuing pandemic-program cases separately. The Justice Department said last week that a nationwide COVID-era fraud enforcement surge involved more than 160 defendants and about $245 million in intended losses between June 12 and Sept. 1.

The White House said in August that the task force had uncovered nearly $230 billion in suspected fraud, stopped $56 billion in annualized payments and enforced more than $55 billion through indictments, settlements and civil penalties. Those are administration estimates covering multiple federal programs.

The latest review follows other Vance-led enforcement actions involving Medicaid and Medicare.