--- title: "Officials Uncover $1.22 Billion in Suspected COVID Contract Fraud" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/business/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/business/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud" category: "Business & Economy" area: "United States" published: "2026-09-24T17:25:44.606Z" source_reported: "2026-09-24T16:37:27.000Z" updated: "2026-09-24T17:25:44.606Z" trust_score: 70 critic_score: 80 hype_score: 18 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-09-24T19:45:39.955609+00:00" --- # Officials Uncover $1.22 Billion in Suspected COVID Contract Fraud *Fraudulent payments continued after the national health emergency ended in 2023.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 70 of 100, higher is better. Trust 70 – named officials, specific figures, and corroboration across multiple outlets raise confidence. - Craft 80 of 100, higher is better. Critic 80 – clear context, quotes, specific data, next steps, but reads like a press release. - Hype 18 of 100, lower is better. Hype 18 – neutral language, headline matches body, no sensational exaggeration. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Federal officials uncovered $1.22 billion in suspected fraud across five Health and Human Services (HHS) contracts. - The fraud involved COVID-era contracts that continued to disburse funds after the national emergency ended in 2023. - The General Services Administration (GSA) stopped an additional $41 million from being paid out. - HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that cases are being referred to law enforcement for potential recovery of funds. Federal officials have identified $1.22 billion in suspected fraud connected to five contracts issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The General Services Administration (GSA) announced the findings on Thursday, stating that the contracts were related to the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to disburse money even after the national health emergency concluded in 2023. The GSA also reported that it prevented an additional $41 million in payments from being issued. The COVID-19 national emergency ended in 2023, and federal purchasing flexibilities associated with the pandemic were cancelled later that year. However, officials noted that some contractors continued to receive funds through agreements that still carried the emergency designation. GSA Administrator Edward Forst stated that "fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars." Officials have not identified the contractors involved or specified the exact nature of the alleged fraudulent conduct. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that these cases are being referred to law enforcement agencies. He added that officials will attempt to recover the funds that were improperly disbursed. ## Disagreement on fraud timeline While the centre-rated report from KUTV states the fraud involved COVID-era contracts that kept disbursing money after the national emergency ended in 2023, the right-rated reports from NYTimespost.com, WFMD.com, and Fox News tie the suspected fraud to "Biden-era spending." ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated reports printed below mention the specific figure of $41 million that the GSA stopped from being paid out. Additionally, none of the right-rated reports mention that the national emergency ended in 2023 and related federal purchasing flexibilities were cancelled later that year, details present in the centre-rated report. ## Who covered it Shares of the 8 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 25% (2) - Right: 75% (6) 0 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-09-24T19:45:39.955609+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 6 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-09-24T20:00:17.758Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre - The centre-rated report from KUTV led with the total amount of suspected fraud uncovered, $1.22 billion, and specified it was tied to five COVID-era Health and Human Services (HHS) contracts. It detailed that these contracts continued to disburse money after the national emergency ended in 2023. The report included a statement from GSA Administrator Edward Forst about fraudsters weaponizing outdated contracts and noted that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said cases are being referred to law enforcement. KUTV also reported that the GSA stopped an additional $41 million from being paid out. ### Right - The right-rated reports from WRGB, realnewsnow.com, nytimespost.com, wfmd.com, and Fox News all highlighted the $1.2 billion figure for suspected fraud in COVID-era contracts. Several of these reports, including those from nytimespost.com, wfmd.com, and Fox News, specifically linked the fraud to "Biden-era spending." The reports from WRGB and realnewsnow.com also mentioned the $1.22 billion figure. All right-rated digests noted that federal officials uncovered the fraud and that the GSA was involved. Some digests, such as the one from Fox News, mentioned HHS vaccine contracts that outlasted the pandemic. The digests did not include direct quotes from officials. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 2 - mixed: 2 - high: 1 - veryHigh: 3 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Nextgov](https://nextgov.com/acquisition/2026/09/gsa-claims-it-found-12b-suspected-covid-related-contracting-fraud/416197) — GSA claims it found $1.2B in suspected COVID-related contracting fraud - [realnewsnow.com](https://realnewsnow.com/trump-administration-uncovers-1-22-billion-in-suspected-fraud-across-covid-era-contracts) — Trump Administration Uncovers $1.22 Billion in Suspected Fraud Across COVID-Era Contracts - Real News Now - [nytimespost.com](https://nytimespost.com/trump-administration-uncovers-1-2b-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud-tied-to-biden-era-spending) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected COVID contract fraud tied to Biden-era spending - NEW YORK TIMES POST - [wfmd.com](https://wfmd.com/2026/09/24/trump-administration-uncovers-1-2b-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud-tied-to-biden-era-spending) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected COVID contract fraud tied to Biden-era spending - [Fox News](https://foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-uncovers-1-2b-suspected-covid-contract-fraud-tied-biden-era-spending) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected COVID contract fraud tied to Biden-era spending - [KUTV](https://kutv.com/news/nation-world/trump-administration-uncovers-billions-suspected-fraud-tied-covid-era-contracts-general-services-administration-white-house-task-force-pandemic) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected fraud tied to COVID-era contracts - [WRGB](https://cbs6albany.com/news/nation-world/trump-administration-uncovers-billions-suspected-fraud-tied-covid-era-contracts-general-services-administration-white-house-task-force-pandemic) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected fraud tied to COVID-era contracts - [KBAK](https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/nation-world/trump-administration-uncovers-billions-suspected-fraud-tied-covid-era-contracts-general-services-administration-white-house-task-force-pandemic) — Trump administration uncovers $1.2B in suspected fraud tied to COVID-era contracts ## Questions **How much suspected fraud was uncovered?** Federal officials uncovered $1.22 billion in suspected fraud across five Health and Human Services (HHS) contracts. These contracts were related to the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to disburse money after the national emergency ended in 2023. **What action is being taken regarding the suspected fraud?** HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that the cases are being referred to law enforcement. Officials also plan to attempt to recover the funds that were improperly disbursed through these contracts. **Did any money get paid out after the fraud was identified?** The General Services Administration (GSA) reported that it stopped an additional $41 million from being paid out. This action was taken as part of the investigation into the suspected fraudulent payments. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/business/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Officials Uncover $1.22 Billion in Suspected COVID Contract Fraud", https://mediabias.news/business/officials-uncover-122-billion-in-suspected-covid-contract-fraud