The claim contains a meaningful point, but leaves out important context.
Did Sand's office ignore $27.6 million in misallocated court money?
Lahn and other Republicans say Sand's office knew about millions in misallocated court collections in 2022 and failed to do its job.
The underlying problem was real. Judicial Branch computer errors directed about $27.6 million to the wrong government funds from fiscal 2021 through 2024. The money remained in government accounts, but road, victim-compensation and other funds received less than they should have.
Sand's office knew about a potential problem in 2022. Sand says his staff remained involved while the Judicial Branch hired technical experts, corrected the programming and calculated the final amounts. His office released an audit after receiving those figures in 2024. Republican officials argue the process took too long and should have received greater scrutiny sooner.
Bottom line: Sand's office did not uncover the original programming problem, and reasonable questions can be asked about how long the review took. But the record does not show that his office simply ignored it. The problem was ultimately documented in an audit released by Sand's office, and the money was misallocated—not stolen or missing.
The complete record
The claim: Lahn and other Republican officials say Sand's office knew in 2022 about a Judicial Branch error that misallocated court collections, and failed to act on it promptly.
Made by: Lahn and Republicans
What is documented:
- A Judicial Branch computer programming error misdirected approximately $27.6 million in court collections to incorrect government funds between fiscal years 2021 and 2024.
- The misallocated money remained within government accounts throughout; it was not lost, stolen or spent improperly—funds such as the road use fund and victim compensation fund received less than they were owed, while other funds received more.
- Sand's office became aware of a potential problem with court-fund allocations in 2022.
- The Judicial Branch subsequently hired outside technical experts to identify and correct the programming error and calculate the exact misallocated amounts.
- Sand's office released an audit documenting the $27.6 million misallocation in December 2024, after receiving the corrected figures from the Judicial Branch.
- Republican officials, including at a House Government Oversight Committee hearing, have questioned why the review process took roughly two years and argued Sand's office should have escalated or resolved it sooner.
What is not established: The record reviewed does not establish that Sand's office identified or caused the original programming error—that was a Judicial Branch technical failure. It also does not resolve the political disagreement over whether the roughly two-year period between initial awareness in 2022 and the December 2024 audit reflects reasonable diligence or an unreasonable delay; both characterizations depend on judgments about the complexity of correcting a multi-year software error across government fund transfers.
Public response: Sand's office has said it remained engaged throughout the review while the Judicial Branch's outside experts corrected the underlying programming error, and that the December 2024 audit was released as soon as accurate figures were available. Sand testified before the House Government Oversight Committee defending his office's handling of the matter.
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