(The Center Square) – Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order Tuesday creating the state’s first Chief Fraud Prevention Officer and a statewide fraud prevention workgroup to coordinate and expand on the state’s existing fraud prevention efforts.
But some lawmakers are suggesting the timing of the announcement is suspect, just one week before Election Day.
“The timing is suspect,” said Senator Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, in a Wednesday interview with The Center Square. Christian suggested announcing the fraud crackdown one week before the Nov. 3 deadline to return ballots could be intended to convince voters Democrats are looking out for taxpayers.
“The fact is, there’s already departments tasked with doing this. They’re just not doing it. We’ve given them the power, and for whatever reason, they’re just not doing the job. So, find out why that job is not being done,” said Christian.
“But to come up with another task force, another waste of time, another stalling tactic….people need results, not stalling tactics, and this is just that.”
Ferguson said the state is committed to fighting fraud..
“Washington takes fraud seriously,” he said in the Tuesday news release. “As we continue to face challenging state budgets and devastating cuts from the federal government, it is more important than ever to protect every dollar. My executive order unifies our prevention efforts across state government and expands them.”
Ferguson named four state agencies who will be getting a closer look for potential fraud: The Washington state Health Care Authority, as well as the departments of Social & Health Services, Labor & Industries and Children, Youth & Families.
DCYF has been under scrutiny since late last year, when The Center Square first started investigating home day cares receiving taxpayer funding despite a lack of evidence that children were present at the homes.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy told The Center Square in February that people were “jumping to conclusions” about potential fraud.
“If you have a concern, there are people that you can give that information to. If you have credible evidence, send it to us,” said McCarthy who then suggested reporters should not be knocking on doors to investigate potential fraud.
Majority Democrats said the same during the 2026 legislative session.
“If you were knocking on that door and I found out about it, I would lose my mind. That is a home. That is a homeowner business,” said Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, in response to questions from The Center Square about potential daycare fraud during a Jan. 13, 2026 media availability.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown refused to say if the office was investigating potential fraud, but did issue a notice on Dec. 30, 2025 encouraging those who see reporters looking into fraud to alert his office.
“Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior. I encourage anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline at 1-855-225-1010,” wrote Brown.
GOP Chair Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, told The Center Square the state agencies named in Ferguson’s fraud announcement have long ignored rampant fraud.
“Childcare fraud, hospice fraud, Apple Health fraud. Billions of taxpayer dollars are stolen every year in this state,” Walsh wrote in a statement sent via text.
“He’s creating a new taxpayer-funded ‘Chief Fraud Prevention Officer’ and a taxpayer-funded ‘work group’ that will be ‘co-chaired’ by his staff…and more of his staff. Washington taxpayers already pay for a State Auditor and her army of bureaucrats. They are supposed to prevent rampant fraud at HCA, DSHS and DCYF,” he added.
Ferguson’s workgroup will be comprised of representatives of the Governor’s cabinet agencies to coordinate their efforts, and it will be co-chaired by the Governor’s Office and the Office of Financial Management.
The Governor’s executive order also tasks OFM, the Department of Enterprise Services, the Washington State Patrol and the state Criminal Justice Training Commission with developing new fraud prevention training courses for state employees.
The workgroup is expected to create a statewide Public Funds Fraud Prevention and Accountability Framework no later than June 30, 2027, to establish a coordinated statewide approach.
The Center Square reached out to the four state agencies named in Ferguson’s release to receive attention from the fraud director.
“DCYF welcomes efforts to strengthen fraud prevention and program integrity. We also continue to be committed to continuous improvement of our monitoring and program integrity processes,” wrote DCYF Communications Director Nancy Gutierrez.
Katie Pope, chief communications officer for HCA wrote, “The Health Care Authority is committed to protecting public resources and ensuring the integrity of the programs we administer. HCA has established processes to prevent, identify, and address fraud, waste, and abuse, including oversight, audits, and investigations and we look forward to further collaboration with the Governor’s Office and state agency partners to support the goals of this executive order and strengthen coordination across agencies.”
Matt Ross, public affairs manager at L&I, and DSHS Senior Director Michael Marchand, both emailed that they were working on statements, but did not submit them before the publication deadline.
Sen. Christian said it makes zero sense to create another workgroup when state agencies are already expected to protect against fraud.
“We have agencies here [that are] supposed to be looking at fraud. When you do a news story, and you point it out, how come that is not investigated? That’s a head in the sand moment,” Christian said.
Ferguson’s office declined an interview, but said they would respond to questions via email. The Center Square did not receive a response to the questions before publication.