Protecting Federal K–12 Funds from Fraud

You’ve probably read the headlines in newspapers. School officials—some very senior officials like school superintendents and school board members—have gone to prison for stealing or otherwise abusing Federal education funds. In our Semiannual Reports to Congress, we regularly share examples of our investigative cases involving millions of dollars lost to fraud, abuse, and criminal activity involving these K–12 funds. 

The U.S. Department of Education disburses billions of dollars each year to individuals and local, State, and Federal entities, including school districts, schools, colleges, and universities. But every year bad actors intentionally misuse, steal, or otherwise abuse those funds for their own selfish purposes. This is particularly egregious when it involves funding that supports the education of kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade, as the perpetrators of these crimes tend to be school officials—people in positions of trust to educate children.

The Office of Inspector General works to stop those who steal or otherwise abuse these funds. We investigate cases involving things like nepotism, quid pro quo, procurement fraud, construction fraud, and personal enrichment. But we can’t do this alone. We need your help. Whether you are a school employee, volunteer, employee of a business that has contracts with the schools and school districts, a parents of students, or just a concerned community member, we need you to speak up when something doesn't seem right.

Tune in to this episode to hear about some of our fraud cases, and to learn about signs of possible fraud and how to report it. You'll get the scoop from Ali Turon, a criminal investigator with our Dallas Regional Office, and Dana McKay, a criminal investigator in our Denver Office. And then you can join the effort to protect Federal K–12 funds.

Download brochures, flyers, and posters on stopping Federal education fraud.
Read the transcript for Eye on ED episode 6.