Kentucky auditor warns Beshear: State risks losing funding if fraud continues

(The Center Square) – Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball sent a letter to Gov. Andy Beshear warning the state could lose federal funding if the governor doesn't join efforts to stop taxpayer fraud.

Auditor Allison Ball told The Center Square: “Over the course of the last two and a half years, my office has identified and recommended corresponding solutions to over a billion dollars of wasted taxpayer money in Kentucky.

“President [Donald] Trump is paying attention to what auditors around the country are doing in their war on waste, fraud and abuse in public benefits programs,” Ball said. “He has made clear that the federal government will hold accountable governors who fail to protect these programs.”

Ball said that her letter “put Governor Beshear on notice that President Trump will no longer tolerate the issues within his administration that allow waste, fraud and abuse to run rampant in Kentucky's public benefits programs.”

“If the governor doesn't address these issues, Kentucky is at-risk of losing federal dollars,” Ball said. “An unacceptable solution for Kentucky Republicans and Democrats alike.”

Beshear’s communications director Scottie Ellis has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Ball told The Center Square that taxpayer fraud must be stopped for the sake of Kentucky’s people.

“Kentuckians work hard every day to provide a life for their families, and they deserve to know that their government is responsible with taxpayer funds,” Ball said.

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“Kentuckians especially deserve accountability and oversight for public assistance programs that are designed and intended to support the neediest among us,” Ball said.

“When hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted on Medicaid fraud, that’s hundreds of millions of dollars that aren’t there for the people who need them most,” Ball said.

Ball noted that her office “does not simply point out problems; we provide recommendations to fix them.”

“If Governor Beshear doesn't do his part in addressing the problems within his administration that we have identified, Kentucky may lose federal funding,” Ball warned again.

“Our office will continue to follow the facts, identify problems, and hold government accountable,” Ball said. 

“The goal here is not to score political points,” Ball said. “The president is simply, and rightfully, demanding that federal tax dollars should be used for their intended purpose, not squandered by the governor and his political appointees.”

In her letter, Ball told the governor she was thankful that although his dismissiveness of her office’s “audit, examination, and investigation reports” could result in a penalty, “most of the individuals within your administration with whom we work on a day-to-day basis appreciate our work and attempt to correct the issues that we point out to them.”