Federal auditors find the Treasury Department's Judgment Fund reporting unreliable and call for a transparency overhaul

The Government Accountability Office released a December 2018 report finding that Treasury annual Judgment Fund transparency reports to Congress contained numerous discrepancies with audited financial reports, concluding that exhibits had been created in a faulty manner and carried an elevated risk of containing unreliable information. GAO found that little information was publicly available about individual settlement payments, including who received funds, why settlements were reached, and how the money was used. The GAO recommended mandatory disclosure standards and more rigorous reporting, noting that the lack of reliable data impaired Congress ability to exercise effective oversight.