Musk alleges $50B treasury fraud after DOGE's data access limited
What's the story
Elon Musk has alleged massive fraud in the United States Treasury's entitlement payments after a federal judge temporarily barred the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive Treasury data.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued the order in response to a lawsuit from 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claim granting DOGE full access to the Treasury's payment systems violates federal laws protecting sensitive information.
Fraud allegations
Musk claims DOGE identified issues in Treasury's payment systems
Despite the legal setback, Musk claimed DOGE had already unearthed major issues with the treasury's payment systems.
He alleged over $100 billion per year is paid to people without a Social Security Number or temporary ID number.
"If accurate, this is extremely suspicious," Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He further alleged Treasury insiders estimated half of these payments, or roughly $50 billion/year, could be "unequivocal and obvious fraud."
Criticism and praise
Musk criticizes past officials, praises working-level employees
Musk slammed former Treasury officials for allegedly quelling attempts to probe wasteful spending.
"Nobody in treasury management cared enough before," Musk posted on X.
"I do want to credit the working-level people in treasury who have wanted to do this for many years but have been stopped by prior management," he added.
Twitter Post
Musk on X
Nobody in Treasury management cared enough before. I do want to credit the working level people in Treasury who have wanted to do this for many years, but have been stopped by prior management.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2025
Everything at Treasury was geared towards complain minimization. People we receive…
Proposed reforms
Musk advocates for improved financial oversight and security
Musk emphasized an agreement between DOGE and the Treasury to enhance financial oversight by mandating payment categorization codes for audits.
He said many transactions currently don't have such coding, making audits difficult.
Musk also urged for mandatory documentation of payment rationales in Treasury records.
On the security side, he pushed for stricter enforcement of the "Do-Not-Pay" list to prevent fraudulent payments and said it should be updated weekly/daily.