The officials responsible for uncovering extensive fraud during and after the COVID-19 pandemic are requesting additional time and funding to successfully complete their mission.
The Justice Department’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, comprising nearly 30 federal agencies, published its 2024 report on Tuesday. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the task force’s endeavors in combatting fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs.
According to the task force report, prosecutors have brought charges against over 3,500 defendants and have successfully obtained more than 400 civil settlements and judgments. Additionally, they have seized or forfeited over $1.4 billion in CARES Act funds that were fraudulently obtained. The task force has also introduced a new data-driven approach to investigate cases of government fraud.
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, there is still more work to be done.
According to him, even though the COVID-19 public health emergency has concluded, the Justice Department’s efforts to uncover and prosecute individuals responsible for stealing pandemic relief funds are still ongoing.
In addition, the task force report has requested Congress for additional funding.
According to the report, the government does not have enough resources to prosecute fraudsters who have not only committed pandemic fraud but also targeted vulnerable populations through romance fraud schemes, U.S. companies through business email compromise schemes, and government programs through unemployment insurance fraud. Failing to provide the necessary support to agencies or neglecting to extend the statute of limitations would prevent agents and prosecutors from completing their work, resulting in the loss of the opportunity to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud proceeds. This would also put our citizens and government institutions at risk of future criminal victimization.
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have brought criminal charges against 3,500 defendants in cases of pandemic fraud, resulting in losses exceeding $2.1 billion.
There is limited information available regarding the total amount of COVID-19 fraud.
According to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2023, the individuals who were convicted of pandemic fraud represent only a small fraction of the overall fraudulent activities. The report suggests that there is a significant amount of potential fraud that remains hidden beneath the surface, with the true extent of it unlikely to ever be fully known.
The report states that the true magnitude of fraud linked to the COVID-19 relief funds will remain uncertain since not all instances of fraud can be detected, investigated, and resolved through legal or other means.
According to the GAO report, the majority of individuals who are convicted will be sentenced to less than 5 years in prison, and a significant number of them will not serve any time in prison at all.
According to a report by the GAO, the pandemic led to unemployment fraud that cost taxpayers approximately $135 billion. This amounts to around 11% to 15% of the total unemployment insurance benefits paid during this period.
