DOGE Alert: Corruption and Fraud on Steroids at the Dept. of Justice

PRESS RELEASE

Robert Thompson: 301-801-0608

DOGE Alert: Corruption and Fraud on Steroids at the Dept. of Justice

WASHINGTON / February 19, 2025 – Last September the Department of Justice announced the award of $690 million in grants by its Office on Violence Against Women (1) . Unfortunately, much of this money likely will end up being spent for unapproved purposes, or even lining the pockets of shelter managers.

The Department of Justice Audit Division conducts ongoing reviews of grantees that receive funds under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (2). A summary of the audits conducted 2013 to 2017 identified $14.7 million spent for unsupported or unallowable expenditures. Out of 47 grantees, 72% were found to be “Generally Non-Compliant,” which means the agency failed to meet minimum standards across a broad range of indicators (3).

These alarming findings apparently were ignored by DOJ officials.

The following year, the Washington Post published, “Mice in the Couches, Mold on the Walls,” which documented long-standing problems at a Maryland abuse shelter. The shelter’s sanitary conditions had deteriorated to the point that one shelter resident declared, “It was a living hell.” (4)

Once again, the lessons of the Washington Post article fell on deaf ears.

in 2023, Tiffany Carr, former head of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, was arrested for defrauding the state of $3.4 million, perversely diverting grant monies that were intended to support domestic violence shelters across the state (5).

In addition, VAWA funds are widely used to lobby state and local governments. This is a violation of the Federal Anti-Lobbying Act, which prohibits the use of federally-appropriated money for lobbying purposes. For example, the Nebraska Domestic Violence Coalition has been one of the most active groups lobbying state lawmakers. The group’s direct and indirect lobbying expenses were far in excess of their non-VAWA revenues.

These are not isolated incidents. Over the years, the corruption that pervades the domestic violence industry has been documented in disturbing detail (6, 7, 8).

Over the past many years, billions of dollars of taxpayer funds have been used for unlawful or unauthorized purposes, or lost to waste, fraud, and abuse. To end the VAWA “Culture of Corruption,” DOGE auditors need to mandate the following procedures:

Require higher levels of managerial and financial expertise among grant applicants.
Mandate that VAWA grant recipients base their programs on scientific research, not “gender ideology.”
Assure that all persons, male and female, receive assistance on a non-discriminatory basis.
In the event of a failed audit, DOJ managers should identify alternative agencies to provide services.

SAVE – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – is a 501(c)3 organization working to assure due process, fairness, and equal opportunities for men.

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