By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than $200 billion has likely been stolen from the U. S. government’s COVID-19 relief systems. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, a federal watchdog said Tuesday, adding that the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is not a major U. S. regulator. The U. S. had weakened its controls in a rush to disburse the funds.
According to a report released Tuesday through SBA’s Office of Inspector General, at least 17% of the entire Coronavirus Economic Disaster Loan (EIDL)-like budget and the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) systems went to fraudulent actors.
During the pandemic, the SBA distributed approximately $1. 2 billion in EIDL and PPP funds.
The SBA questioned the watchdog’s figure of more than $200 billion and said the inspector general had particularly exaggerated fraud.
The firm said its experts estimated the potential fraud at $36 billion, adding that more than 86 percent of that potential fraud took place in 2020, when former President Donald Trump’s administration was in power. President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
The Inspector General’s fraud estimate for the EIDL program exceeds $136 billion, while the PPP fraud estimate is $64 billion.
U. S. Investigates Instances of Fraud Similar to U. S. Government Aid ProgramsU. S. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland introduced a COVID-19 fraud task force.
Last year, the U. S. Department of Justice (U. S. )The U. S. Department of Justice asked U. S. Attorney Kevin Chambers to direct his efforts to investigate alleged fraud schemes to cheat pandemic relief programs.
In September 2022, the U. S. Department of Labor’s inspector general was issued a decision to do so. The U. S. Department of Labor said scammers likely stole $45. 6 billion from the U. S. unemployment insurance program. The U. S. government during the coronavirus outbreak by applying tactics such as employing Social Security numbers of deceased people.
Also in September, federal prosecutors charged dozens of defendants with stealing $250 million from a government aid program aimed at feeding children in need because of the pandemic.
Earlier this year, a separate surveillance report said the U. S. government has not been able to do so. The U. S. government likely handed out about $5. 4 billion in COVID-19 assistance to others with questionable Social Security numbers.
(Reporting via Kanishka Singh in Washington; Edited by Aurora Ellis)
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