Fraud and abuse do more than waste money. They take resources away from taxpayers and from the New Yorkers who legitimately depend on government services.
Joseph Hernandez will make fighting fraud a central mission of the Comptroller’s office, using audits, technology, data, and the office’s oversight authority to detect suspicious spending earlier and hold those responsible accountable.
Create a Fraud Strike Task Force
Hernandez will establish a dedicated Fraud Strike Task Force focused on identifying suspicious spending patterns, uncovering organized fraud schemes, coordinating investigations, and referring credible cases to law enforcement and prosecutors.
The mission will be straightforward: identify fraud faster, stop improper payments sooner, and recover taxpayer dollars whenever possible.
Stop Fraud Before Taxpayer Money Is Gone
Government should not have to wait until millions of dollars have already been lost to discover that something went wrong.
Hernandez will push the Comptroller’s office toward stronger pre-payment monitoring, advanced data analysis, and modern fraud-detection tools that can flag suspicious claims, vendors, and transactions before taxpayer dollars are paid out.
Oversight should be proactive, not just reactive.
Audit the MTA, Medicaid and Major Spending Programs
The largest areas of government spending deserve the strongest oversight.
Hernandez will prioritize aggressive audits of the MTA, Medicaid, CDPAP, state agencies, public authorities, and other major spending programs. His office will examine procurement, contracts, overtime, administrative costs, capital projects, improper payments, cost overruns, and other areas vulnerable to waste and abuse.
Audit findings will be made clear and accessible to the public. When evidence of wrongdoing is uncovered, it will be referred to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.