 With millions of dollars at his disposal, Forbes hired 30,000 new workers at the Veterans'Bureau, many of whom were personal friends to Forbes. The Veterans' Bureau under Forbes was overstaffed and many appointed agents looked for means to justify their paid positions. During his tenure as director, Forbes ignored the needs of the wounded veterans. In the less than two years that Forbes held his position, he embezzled approximately $ 2 million, mainly in connection with the building of veterans'hospitals, from selling hospital supplies intended for the bureau, and from kickbacks from contractors. The budget for the Veterans' Bureau during his tenure was $ 1.3 billion in total. Forbes had rejected thousands of legitimate claims by veterans.
