A coalition of state financial officers has published a report claiming to have identified roughly $225 million in alleged fraud across US schools over the past six years, spanning nearly 90 cases of embezzlement, fake invoices, inflated enrolment, bid-rigging and kickbacks. Obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, the report by the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) and Open the Books arrives as the Trump administration, with Vice President JD Vance leading a "War on Fraud", steps up scrutiny of federal spending, raising fresh questions about oversight of education funding.

The report analysed every Education Department Office of Inspector General semiannual report to Congress issued between October 2019 and March 2026, finding alleged fraud across 24 states and Puerto Rico. About $67 million was ordered to be repaid through court rulings or settlements, though it is unclear how much has actually been recovered. Notably, only three of the 20 largest federally funded school districts appeared in the records, with investigations instead focused on smaller districts, charter schools and online programmes — which the authors say points to gaps in federal oversight. SFOF CEO OJ Oleka called defrauding education funds "especially hideous" and argued state oversight has "never mattered more".