Without evidence, social media posts claim fraud in EPA grant to Stacey Abrams-linked group

Stacey Abrams, the two-time Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, did not steal $2 billion from a clean energy grant program, despite social media claims. 

"Stacey Abrams stole $2 BILLION from taxpayers," one Feb. 19 Facebook post said.

Other social media posts circulated a similar claim, including the conservative X account Libs of TikTok, which accused the funding of being a "scam."

The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The claim stems from a $2 billion Environmental Protection Agency grant that went to Power Forward Communities, a coalition of clean energy groups, including one in which Abrams previously was a senior counsel. The grant, which the EPA awarded under then-President Joe Biden, will fund energy efficient housing projects around the country. There’s no evidence Abrams directly received any of the grant money or engaged in illegal behavior. 

Power Forward Communities consists of Rewiring America, Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, United Way, and Habitat for Humanity International. The group formed in 2023 to apply for the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy funding.

Abrams, an attorney, joined Rewiring America, one of the coalition’s members, in March 2023 as a senior counsel. Abrams did not have a role at Power Forward Communities beyond her position at Rewiring America, her spokesperson Joshua Karp said. She left Rewiring America at the end of 2024.

In October 2023, shortly after Rewiring America announced Power Forward Communities’ creation, Abrams said in an X post she was "Thrilled to be part of (Rewiring America) and the Power Forward Communities coalition."

Power Forward Communities and Rewiring America declined to comment on the record. Power Forward Communities CEO Tim Mayopoulos told Politico Abrams was not paid by Power Forward Communities. 

"Stacey Abrams has not received a penny of this EPA grant," Mayopoulos said in the Feb. 24 Politico article. "It was never the plan for her to receive any money from this grant. Power Forward Communities has no relationship with Ms. Abrams, other than the fact that she’s one of the people who have advised one of our coalition members in the past."

The $2 billion grant to Power Forward Communities was part of $20 billion in funding the EPA announced in April 2024. The funding came from the National Clean Investment Fund, part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022 by congressional Democrats. 

An April 4, 2024, release about Power Forward Communities’ award said the coalition’s members would draw on their experience "to build and lead a national financing program providing customized and affordable solutions for single-family and multi-family housing owners and developers."

Power Forward Communities was one of three groups chosen for awards under the National Clean Investment Fund after a competitive review process, the EPA said at the time, that included reviews from dozens of federal employees and scoring of applications by expert review panels. The EPA advertised the plan for the program that funded Power Forward Communities in 2023, indicating it intended to choose two or three national nonprofits to partner with local organizations to deliver the funding. The grant opportunity opened in July 2023, and it received five applications, E&E News reported. 

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President Donald Trump’s EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has criticized the process that Biden’s EPA used to fund the projects, saying in a recent video that it was "purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight." The EPA under Trump is trying to claw back the funding that has been awarded. The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.

Power Forward Communities announced Feb. 24 it is beginning work on projects representing $539 million in EPA grant funds. They include energy efficiency upgrades in Clinton, Iowa, a new apartment complex in Detroit, Michigan, and home renovations in Salem, Massachusetts.

A Facebook post said Stacey Abrams "stole $2 BILLION from taxpayers." 

There’s no evidence for that. 

Abrams was senior counsel to one of the five member organizations of a clean energy coalition that received $2 billion in funding from Biden’s EPA. Abrams was not paid by Power Forward Communities and did not receive any of the federal funds, its CEO said.

The EPA said it awarded the grant through a competitive review process. There’s no evidence the funding was fraudulent or that Abrams personally benefited from it. Power Forward Communities recently announced the first phase of projects funded by the grant. 

We rate the claim False.