Wisconsin: Walker administration saves taxpayers $134 million in fraud fight

8/21/2014

MADISON, Wis. — The fight against government waste, fraud and abuse has intensified under Gov. Scott Walker.

The Walker administration on Wednesday announced the state Department of Revenue during the past four tax seasons has stopped $134 million in tax refunds related to fraud and adjustments.

That’s a 122 percent increase in fraud prevention over the prior four years of the administration of Gov. Jim Doyle.

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FIGHTING FRAUD: Gov. Scott Walker’s administration says it has saved Wisconsin taxpayers $134 million over the past four tax season in its fight against fraud.

Walker took office in January 2011 with a pledge to target government waste, fraud and abuse.

It was one of the governor’s first initiatives. On Jan. 3, 2011, Walker issuedExecutive Order #2, creating theGovernor’s Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse, with marching orders to identify bloat and impropriety in state government programs and state appropriations and recommend solutions.

“This is a great example of how extra effort adds up, and allows us to continue to invest in worker training, and growing our economy,” he Walker said in a statement on the reported tax savings.

Critics of the latest state budget say there is plenty of room for improvement in tracking waste in the $70-billion biennial spending plan. But there have been some significant strides made in the battle of the budget bulge in recent years.

Lawmakers marked $7.4 million in the two-year budget for enhanced enforcement and identity verification. In the previous fiscal year, the anti-fraud efforts stopped $49.6 million in fraudulent refunds, led by the Department of Administration’s initiatives such as Identity Verification, according to the agency.

“We are focused on preventing identity theft and protecting taxpayers through our fraud detection and identity verification initiatives,” Revenue Secretary Richard Chandler said in a statement. “We have stepped up efforts to deter, combat and reject tax fraud where it occurs.”

The state Office of the Inspector General also has stepped up efforts in fightingFoodShare and Medicaid fraud.

In the most recent reported quarter, January through March, the office found a little more than $2.3 million in overpayments to recipients of the state-run Medicaid program and to FoodShare, Wisconsin’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That’s up from a little more than $2.1 million in reported fraud during the same period in 2013. OIG also claims intervention saved another $2.5 million in cost avoidance in first quarter 2014.

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