Treasury Employee Briefly Had Unauthorized Editing Access to Federal Payment System

The access error involving a Musk-affiliated staffer was corrected quickly, with no evidence of misuse, according to Treasury officials.

Marko Elez, a former Treasury employee and Musk associate, was mistakenly granted read/write access to the Secure Payment System (SPS) instead of read-only access.
The error was discovered on February 6, 2025, and promptly corrected; officials state Elez did not knowingly use or exploit the elevated permissions.
A forensic investigation into Elez's system activity has found no evidence of unauthorized actions or data misuse so far.
Elez resigned from his role on February 6 following the discovery of racist social media posts linked to him, which have drawn public scrutiny.
The incident has raised broader concerns about the Department of Government Efficiency's access to sensitive Treasury systems and its oversight under Musk's leadership.