Other Government Fraud

Most people believe the government has infinite resources and boundless funds. While it is true that the American Government controls significant resources they are by no means infinite nor are funds without restraint. Every taxpaying citizen funds the government to one degree or another, and someone who steals from the government steals from all of us.

There are numerous oversight agencies in the government, but a beaucracy as large and complex as the American government is it is impossible to monitor every transaction with the vigilance it deserves. Fortunately, there are brave people just like you who are willing to take the risks necessary to prevent unscrupulous people from taking advantage of the system.

Government fraud takes many forms. Some of the most common include:

• Federal Construction: Stealing from infrastructure or improvement funding
• Royalty Underpayment: Fraud that deals with the undervaluing of oil and other resources in order to misrepresent the percentage owed to the government.
• Research/Grants: Abusing the money given to further study in a certain field to universities, companies, or individuals.
• Customs: Underreporting the value of goods brought into the country in order to pay less taxes or duties on them
• Transportation: The policy of some transport companies to underreport the value of the goods they move on federal highways or other arteries of movement.

Federal Construction

The federal government is the largest underwriter of public works projects in this country, annually contributing tens of billions of dollars to create the infrastructure network for the entire country to use. These contracts employ millions of people and provide a vital service to unite and strengthen our country.

Royalty Underpayment

The United States is one of the richest nations in the world in terms of the amount of natural resources found on its territories. The resources on federally owned or Indian territories are available to private contractors to gather and sell, but they must pay the government or tribe a percentage of the value of the resource. Forthright companies are honest about the value of the resource, be it timber or gems or oil, and pay their fair share to the people.

Unfortunately there are some contractors who underreport the value of the resources and exploit the lack of direct government oversight in order to rob the taxpayers of their fair share.

Research/Grants

The federal government underwrites billions of dollars in research and grants to individuals, corporations, and educational institutions every year in order to further the artistic and industrial capacities of our nation. Although there are strict regulations on how this money is to be spent and the amount that must be produced, some people overcharge or bill unrelated services to the government grant.

These billions of dollars come from the pockets of taxpayers just like you, and when they are misspent it injures all of us equally. Defrauding the government through abuse of a research grant is particularly shameful because this money is intended to better us all rather than inflate the bank accounts of a few deceitful individuals.

Customs

The companies who import the millions of dollars in materials that into the United States each year have an obligation to report any items they bring in so that our government many take a small percentage of the value as a customs duty.

Transportation

The billions of tons of freight that travels the roads and railways of America is strictly regulated in order to assure that government receives a fair amount of compensation for the use of these vital transportation arteries. Most companies who perform this type of transportation are honest and forthright about their loads, although unscrupulous transport companies can underreport their loads in order to defraud the government out of vitally needed tax revenue.