The US Treasury Department has blocked nearly $100 million in taxpayer money from going to dead people since implementing a government-wide payment verification process last year. 

Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service discovered the money set to go to ghosts after a review of an eye-popping 885 million federal payments worth nearly $2.7 trillion.

Since March 2025, the screening has identified more than 4,900 payments, worth approximately $99 million, that were associated with deceased payees, according to the Treasury Department. 

The payments going to the dead – which is often indicative of fraud – were returned to the originating federal agencies for review before any funds were disbursed, the department said. 

The $99 million figure is a tiny percentage (0.0036%) of the $2.7 trillion in federal payments the department reviewed as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse — but more than triple what Treasury discovered going to the deceased in the days before President Trump took office.   

“Treasury has delivered on a key promise of President Trump’s mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury, and strengthen the integrity of the federal payment system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. 

“Together with Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure every dollar the federal government spends reaches its intended recipient,” Bessent added. “Treasury will continue efforts to modernize the federal payment system, strengthen safeguards against fraud and improper payments, and protect taxpayer dollars.”

Treasury used the federal Do Not Pay program, which confirms a recipient’s identity, eligibility, and bank account information before issuing federal payments or awards, as well as other new payment verification tools to flag the $99 million that was going to the graveyard. 

The department “significantly expanded” its use of the verification systems last year after Trump ordered the department to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse. 

Legislation passed in 2021 granted the department temporary access to the Social Security Administration’s “Full Death Master File,” which helped identify some of the deceased payees. 

In February, Trump signed the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act into law, which allowed Treasury permanent access to the death file.   

The department projected $330 million in net benefits through the reduction in improper payments to dead people.