The US Treasury clawed back more than $4 billion in fraudulent payments during fiscal year 2024, a dramatic leap from the $652.7 million recovered the year before. The jump comes from expanded use of artificial intelligence and pre-payment screening tools designed to catch scams before money leaves the government's hands.
How AI and screening tools changed the game
Pre-payment screening, combined with machine-learning models, let the Treasury flag suspicious transactions earlier. Instead of chasing down fraud after the fact, the new systems analyze patterns in real time — stopping payments that show signs of identity theft, duplicate claims, or other anomalies. The strategy saved the government billions in potential losses.
The $4 billion figure covers recoveries from both intentional fraud and accidental overpayments, though the Treasury did not break out the exact share of each. The agency said the tools are now being applied across dozens of payment programs, including tax refunds, unemployment benefits, and disaster relief.
A sixfold increase in one year
Fiscal 2023's recovery of $652.7 million already represented a significant haul, but the new total blows past that by a factor of six. The Treasury attributes the jump to continuous improvements in the algorithms and to broader adoption by agency partners. Officials noted that the system is still learning — as scammers adapt, the models adapt too.
The increase also reflects a wider push across the federal government to modernize payment integrity. The White House has made cutting improper payments a priority, and the Treasury's results offer a concrete measure of progress.
The Treasury plans to roll out the AI screening to additional programs in the coming year. It also aims to share the technology with state and local governments that administer federal funds. The agency is working on a new rule that would require all federal payment systems to embed pre-payment screening by 2026.
But the question remains: how long before fraudsters find a way around the AI? The Treasury says it's already testing countermeasures, but it won't say what they are.
