Treasury Blocks $175 Million in Dead-Recipient Payments as Screening Expands to 99% of Programs
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 6
Treasury Blocks $175 Million in Dead-Recipient Payments as Screening Expands to 99% of Programs
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 6
Summary
$175 million in federal payments tied to deceased recipients was blocked in fiscal 2026 after Treasury identified about 13,500 improper payments before funds were sent.
1.1 billion payments worth roughly $3.7 trillion were screened through Treasury's Do Not Pay system, while checks on 2.3 billion records nearly quadrupled from 641 million a year earlier.
99% of federal programs now have access to Do Not Pay, up from about 4% at the end of fiscal 2025, after a March 2025 Trump executive order pushed broader anti-fraud safeguards.
February 2026 legislation made Treasury's access to Social Security death records permanent, and new bank-account and taxpayer-ID verification tools became fully operational on Sept. 30.
The latest total marks a sharp increase from Treasury's July update, when it had flagged 4,900 payments worth about $99 million tied to deceased recipients.