Deckin Around
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A report released by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) on Monday has revealed that the U.S. government likely awarded about $5.4 billion in COVID-19 aid to people using questionable Social Security numbers.
PRAC stated in the report, "We identified 69,323 questionable Social Security Numbers (SSNs) used to obtain $5.4 billion from the Small Business Administration's (SBA) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)."
Gene Sperling, a senior advisor to President Joe Biden, commented on the report saying, "The report demonstrates 'the significant fraud and identity theft that occurred under the prior administration due to the lack of basic anti-fraud controls, as well as how consequential were the Biden administration's quick actions to reinstate strong anti-abuse measures in these emergency small business programs.'"
The report comes as the government is currently investigating numerous fraud cases related to U.S. government assistance programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program and unemployment insurance. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland established a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to investigate and address these fraud cases.
Digging Deeper:
An inspector general report from the U.S. Labor Department stated that fraudsters likely stole $45.6 billion from the U.S.'s unemployment insurance program. In addition to the federal government, states have also reported significant amounts of fraud relating to their unemployment insurance programs during COVID. One state, California, has estimated its unemployment fraud during COVID-19 lock downs set the state back by $32.6 billion.
A report released by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) on Monday has revealed that the U.S. government likely awarded about $5.4 billion in COVID-19 aid to people using questionable Social Security numbers.
PRAC stated in the report, "We identified 69,323 questionable Social Security Numbers (SSNs) used to obtain $5.4 billion from the Small Business Administration's (SBA) COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)."
Gene Sperling, a senior advisor to President Joe Biden, commented on the report saying, "The report demonstrates 'the significant fraud and identity theft that occurred under the prior administration due to the lack of basic anti-fraud controls, as well as how consequential were the Biden administration's quick actions to reinstate strong anti-abuse measures in these emergency small business programs.'"
The report comes as the government is currently investigating numerous fraud cases related to U.S. government assistance programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program and unemployment insurance. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland established a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to investigate and address these fraud cases.
Digging Deeper:
An inspector general report from the U.S. Labor Department stated that fraudsters likely stole $45.6 billion from the U.S.'s unemployment insurance program. In addition to the federal government, states have also reported significant amounts of fraud relating to their unemployment insurance programs during COVID. One state, California, has estimated its unemployment fraud during COVID-19 lock downs set the state back by $32.6 billion.
