(The Center Square) — An overwhelming majority of New Yorkers support federal efforts to crack down on fraud in the state's public benefit programs, according to a new poll. 

The survey conducted by the State Financial Officers Foundation, released on Monday, found that 85% of voters are concerned — very or somewhat — about waste, fraud, or abuse of taxpayer dollars in New York state government programs.

At least 72% of those surveyed said reducing waste, fraud, and abuse should be a "top" or "very high priority" for the New York state government.

"This new survey confirms that the war on fraud is popular and that even most New Yorkers want their state leaders to enlist in it," OJ Oleka, the foundation's CEO, said in a statement. "Ironically, as some politicians foolishly look to bigger government programs and higher tax bills to fix New York's affordability problems, most New Yorkers actually blame government waste, fraud, and abuse for the state's rise in living costs." 

Among the factors New Yorkers believe contribute, in part, to higher costs for taxpayers were individuals or organizations intentionally defrauding government programs (77%}; people exploiting government programs in ways they were not intended to be used (76%) and government programs that duplicate services already provided elsewhere (68%), according to the foundations report. 

Only 36% of New Yorkers are confident that the New York state government is currently doing enough to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, pollsters found. 

Nearly 8 in 10 voters agree that the New York state government needs stronger oversight and accountability measures to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively, according to the foundation's survey.

The poll comes as New York faces a fraud crackdown after the Trump administration deployed a “strike force” of investigators to the state to recover hundreds of millions in unemployment bogus payments.

The U.S. Department of Labor and its Inspector General's office announced last month a joint effort to "confront serious unemployment‑insurance fraud and performance breakdowns across one of the nation’s highest‑risk states." The agencies said fraud and improper payments in the system is fleecing New York taxpayers of an estimated $2 million a day. 

New York has the highest unemployment insurance fraud rate in the country at 15%, with an estimated $507 million in bogus payments in 2025, according to the Labor Department. It also has the highest improper payment rate at 23%, DOL said, which cost taxpayers $750 million last year. That's roughly a loss of $2 million per day to fraud and improper payments, the agency claimed.

President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off federal funding for New York and other Democrat-run states if they don't improve oversight of Medicaid, food stamps, and other public benefit payments.

In Congress, the Republican-led House Committee on Energy and Commerce recently launched a probe into Medicaid fraud in 10 states — including New York, Vermont and Maine — demanding records from governors and state agencies related to their anti-fraud protections.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has defended the state's anti-fraud protections and says the state is taking steps to safeguard taxpayer dollars from abuse.