WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, an organization of Minnesotans pretended to serve food to low-income children while seeking reimbursement as part of a federal COVID-19 relief program for child nutrition when schools and daycare centers closed.
In total, the scammers defrauded $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Three defendants pleaded guilty in October.
On Wednesday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill pointed to the plot as an example, albeit one, of the government’s blind spots in tracking its pandemic relief funds.
Rep. James Comer opened the first hearing of this Congress’ House Oversight and Accountability Committee and vowed to make sure the government “operates efficiently” and protects American taxpayers from “scammers,” with a specific comment about “massive waste, fraud, and abuse in COVID relief programs. “he said.
The Kentucky Republican accused Democrats of spending too much on a pandemic in the last Congress when they had a majority, and then not knowing if those dollars were hitting targets.
“We owe it to fellow Americans to shine with kindness in the largest American taxpayer cash theft in history,” Comer said in his opening statement.
Ranking member Jamie Raskin disagreed with the blame being directed at Democrats, pointing fingers at several inmates through the House Cabinet’s newest Select Committee on the coronavirus crisis.
“We have used the high point and intimidating pulpit of a small subcommittee to expose and oppose the colossal frauds that are being positioned against the American people,” said Raskin, of Maryland, criticizing former President Donald Trump’s lack of anti-fraud controls. That led to about $84 billion in fraudulent loans for small businesses. among other examples.
“I confess that I am concerned that some of our colleagues seem to need to identify facts and deploy distorted numbers to attack the underlying legitimacy of the systems themselves,” Raskin said.
The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act won almost unanimously from lawmakers and was signed into law through Trump in March 2020.
The large stimulus package provided direct relief checks to Americans, sent federal money to bolster state unemployment insurance, and introduced the paycheck coverage program, which gave small businesses forgivable or low-interest loans to cover payroll and for 8 weeks. as well as mortgages, leases or charges.
The December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act extended some of those programs.
In March 2021, the $1. 9 trillion U. S. bailout bill passed through Congress 117 at the party’s leadership and signed into law through President Joe Biden.
The law expanded and added new pandemic relief programs, adding that it offers about $350 billion in flexible spending for states and governments.
So how much of this cash ended up in the hands?
Republican committee members say many billions have been stolen, though the final figure remains uncertain.
“It will be some time before the extent of the fraud is known,” said U. S. Comptroller Gene Dodaro. U. S. Department of Responsibility and head of the U. S. Government Accountability Office. UU, on the panel.
Dodaro told the committee that more than 1,000 more people have been convicted or convicted of pandemic-related fraud, and more than 600 charges are still pending against others.
Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration, the firm that administers PPP loans, has lately 536 active investigations opened through its inspector general, and the Labor Department is opening about a hundred new instances per week, Dodaro said.
“Then it’s going to last for a while. There are indications of widespread fraud,” he said.
Dodaro cited the agency’s lack of preparedness to track funds, the urgency of disbursing cash quickly and a “widespread” government challenge with misplaced payments, as points that have contributed to the abuse of pandemic aid funds.
Among their recommendations to the panel, Dodaro and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz advocated for a permanent knowledge analysis platform in Congress where systems and spending can be well monitored.
“Taxpayers want this complicated tool to continue to exist,” said Horowitz, who chairs CARES’ Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Horowitz also advocated adjusting the dollar threshold so investigators can inspect fraud to decrease dollar amounts, and extended the statute of limitations for pandemic UI fraud from five to 10 years.
“The PRAC and the IG network are committed to each and every tool provided to us (criminal, civil and administrative) to prosecute taxpayers for every dollar scammers have stolen from pandemic programs,” Horowitz said.
Comer promised more hearings on pandemic aid fraud.
The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the 117th Congress held hearings on the federal reaction to pandemic aid fraud, adding small loan programs.
by Ashley Murray, Missouri Independent February 1, 2023
WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, an organization of Minnesotans pretended to serve food to low-income children while seeking reimbursement as part of a federal COVID-19 relief program for child nutrition when schools and daycare centers closed.
In total, the scammers defrauded $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Three defendants pleaded guilty in October.
On Wednesday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill pointed to the plot as an example, albeit one, of the government’s blind spots in tracking its pandemic relief funds.
Rep. James Comer opened the first hearing of this Congress’ House Oversight and Accountability Committee and vowed to make sure the government “operates efficiently” and protects American taxpayers from “scammers,” with a specific comment about “massive waste, fraud, and abuse in COVID relief programs. “he said.
The Kentucky Republican accused Democrats of spending too much on a pandemic in the last Congress when they had a majority, and then not knowing if those dollars were hitting targets.
“We owe it to fellow Americans to shine with kindness in the largest American taxpayer cash theft in history,” Comer said in his opening statement.
Ranking member Jamie Raskin disagreed with the blame being directed at Democrats, pointing fingers at several inmates through the House Cabinet’s newest Select Committee on the coronavirus crisis.
“We have used the high point and intimidating pulpit of a small subcommittee to expose and oppose the colossal frauds that are being positioned against the American people,” said Raskin, of Maryland, criticizing former President Donald Trump’s lack of anti-fraud controls. That led to about $84 billion in fraudulent loans for small businesses. among other examples.
“I confess that I am concerned that some of our colleagues seem to need to identify facts and deploy distorted numbers to attack the underlying legitimacy of the systems themselves,” Raskin said.
The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act won almost unanimously from lawmakers and was signed into law through Trump in March 2020.
The large stimulus package provided direct relief checks to Americans, sent federal money to bolster state unemployment insurance, and introduced the paycheck coverage program, which gave small businesses forgivable or low-interest loans to cover payroll and for 8 weeks. as well as mortgages, leases or charges.
The December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act extended some of those programs.
In March 2021, the $1. 9 trillion U. S. bailout bill passed through Congress 117 at the party’s leadership and signed into law through President Joe Biden.
The law expanded and added new pandemic relief programs, adding that it offers about $350 billion in flexible spending for states and governments.
So how much of this cash ended up in the hands?
Republican committee members say many billions have been stolen, though the final figure remains uncertain.
“It will be some time before the extent of the fraud is known,” said U. S. Comptroller Gene Dodaro. U. S. Department of Responsibility and head of the U. S. Government Accountability Office. UU, on the panel.
Dodaro told the committee that more than 1,000 more people have been convicted or convicted of pandemic-related fraud, and more than 600 charges are still pending against others.
Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration, the firm that administers PPP loans, has lately 536 active investigations opened through its inspector general, and the Labor Department is opening about a hundred new instances per week, Dodaro said.
“Then it’s going to last for a while. There are indications of widespread fraud,” he said.
Dodaro cited the agency’s lack of preparedness to track funds, the urgency of disbursing cash quickly and a “widespread” government challenge with misplaced payments, as points that have contributed to the abuse of pandemic aid funds.
Among their recommendations to the panel, Dodaro and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz advocated for a permanent knowledge analysis platform in Congress where systems and spending can be well monitored.
“Taxpayers want this complicated tool to continue to exist,” said Horowitz, who chairs CARES’ Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Horowitz also advocated adjusting the dollar threshold so investigators can inspect fraud to decrease dollar amounts, and extended the statute of limitations for pandemic UI fraud from five to 10 years.
“The PRAC and the IG network are committed to each and every tool provided to us (criminal, civil and administrative) to prosecute taxpayers for every dollar scammers have stolen from pandemic programs,” Horowitz said.
Comer promised more hearings on pandemic aid fraud.
The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the 117th Congress held hearings on the federal reaction to pandemic aid fraud, adding small loan programs.
The Missouri Independent is from States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported through grants and a coalition of donors such as a 501c(3) public charity. The Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Please contact editor Jason Hancock if you have any questions: info@missouriindependent. com. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and Twitter.
Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for the States Newsroom. Their policy spaces come with national politics and credits.
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