[227] Harding had ordered that all contracts be pursuant to public notice,[228] but Forbes and the contractors worked out a deal whereby the two companies would get the contracts with the profits divided three ways. Some of the money went to the bureau's chief counsel, Charles F. Cramer.[227] Forbes defrauded the government, increasing construction costs from $3,000 to $4,000 per bed.[229] A tenth of the inflated construction billings was set aside for the conspirators, with Forbes receiving a third of the take.[230] The graft then spread to land acquisition, with Forbes authorizing the purchase of a San Francisco tract worth less than $20,000 for $105,000. At least $25,000 of the resulting financial excess was divided between Forbes and Cramer.[227]

Charles E. Sawyer
Intent on making more money, Forbes in November 1922 began selling valuable hospital supplies warehoused under his control at the Perryville Depot in Maryland.[231] The government had stockpiled huge quantities of hospital supplies during the first World War, which Forbes unloaded for a fraction of their cost to the Boston firm of Thompson and Kelly, at a time when the Veterans' Bureau was buying supplies for the hospitals at a much higher price.