At least $100 billion has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, the US Secret Service said on Tuesday.
The estimate is based on data from Secret Service affairs and the Department of Labor and Small Business Administration, said Roy Dotson, the agency’s national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator in an interview. The Secret Service did not include the COVID-19 fraud cases being prosecuted by the Justice Department.
While about 3 percent of the $3.4 trillion is scattered, the amount stolen from pandemic benefit programs shows that “the sheer size of the pot is luring criminals,” Dotson said.
Much of that figure comes from unemployment fraud. The Labor Department reported that about $87 billion in unemployment benefits may have been improperly paid, a significant portion of which was due to fraud.
The Secret Service said it has seized more than $1.2 billion while investigating unemployment insurance and loan fraud and returned more than $2.3 billion obtained from fraud by working with financial partners and states to reverse the transaction. has given. The Secret Service says it has more than 900 active criminal investigations into pandemic fraud, cases in every state, and has arrested 100 people so far.
The White House on Wednesday rejected the statement, saying the estimate was based on old reports. When asked for comment on this figure, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “There is no new research, data or analysis of fraud.”
The Justice Department said last week that its fraud section had prosecuted more than 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and had fraudulently received Paycheck Protection Program funds as well as cash obtained from multiple real estate properties and purchased luxury items. More than $75 million in proceeds was forfeited. with income.
One of the best-known programs created through the March 2020 CARES Act, PPP offered low-interest, forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to meet payroll and other expenses during the pandemic-related shutdown.
The Secret Service said at the start of the pandemic law enforcement was focused on fraud related to personal protective equipment. Authorities have now prioritized the exploitation of pandemic-related relief as federal funding through the CARES Act has attracted the attention of individuals and organized criminal networks around the world.
“Can we stop fraud? We will? No, but I think we can certainly prosecute those who need to be prosecuted and we will do our best to recover as much fraud epidemic money as possible.” Do your best,” said Dotson, an assistant special agent for the Secret Service in charge of the agency’s area office in Jacksonville, Florida.