It has been stated that the United States Secret Service has revealed that at least $100 billion has been taken from coronavirus alleviation programs in the country, which is a surprising revelation.
The United States Labor Department has found that there has been widespread fraud in the administration of unemployment benefits.
According to reports, the agency seized $1.2 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits and loan repayments while returning $2.3 billion in fraudulent amounts. Over 900 incidents of fraud perpetrated during the epidemic are currently being investigated.
According to sources, the United States Justice Department has charged 150 persons and recovered $75 million as a result of a paycheque protection fund fraud scheme so far in 2018.
Jessica Aber, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced on Monday that the office had charged “30 defendants” with criminal offenses stemming from fraud schemes tied to the COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of this year, according to the Washington Post.
According to the agency, frauds were committed in connection with the paycheque protection program (PPP), the economic injury disaster loan (EIDL) program, and the unemployment insurance (UI) program, among other things.
During the PPP fraud investigation, the agency discovered that individual business owners had overstated payroll expenses in order to secure larger loans, and those serial fraudsters had applied for repeated loans using “false statements regarding business organizations and income,” according to the agency.
In the case of the unemployment insurance fraud scam, the government discovered that criminal groups had targeted finances by filing for UI benefits using stolen identities. In addition, the agency took down fake websites.
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“The COVID-19 requirements have created an environment in which bad actors can seek one-of-a-kind and significant chances for fraud,” Inspector General Michael J. Missal stated.
It was reported to the agency that a person had reportedly taken US mail addressed to more than 150 individuals, while also taking more than $700,000 in cheques (including $1,200 in COVID-19 stimulus payments) and over $700,000.