{"id":1073149,"date":"2021-12-01T15:14:33","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T20:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1073149"},"modified":"2021-12-01T15:14:36","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T20:14:36","slug":"billions-in-covid-small-business-aid-went-to-fraudsters-dead-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/billions-in-covid-small-business-aid-went-to-fraudsters-dead-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Billions In COVID Small Business Aid Went To Fraudsters, Dead People"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbillions-in-covid-small-business-aid-went-to-fraudsters-dead-people%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1073149&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Roughly $3.7 billion in federal aid went to fraudsters barred from receiving federal dollars, according to a report from the Small Business Administration.<\/p>\n<p>The agency offered low-interest, fixed-rate, long-term aid to help companies survive COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession. However, tens of thousands of people abused the system amid bureaucratic incompetence.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/11\/30\/business\/sba-eidl-pandemic-relief.html\">The New York Times<\/a> reported:<\/p>\n<p>The finding adds to a mountain of evidence chronicling what the Small Business Administration\u2019s inspector general, Hannibal Ware, called an \u201cunprecedented amount of fraud\u201d in the agency\u2019s pandemic relief efforts. In October, Mr. Ware\u2019s office chastised the agency for improperly doling out billions in relief money to self-employed people who made \u201cflawed or illogical\u201d claims of having additional workers on their payroll.<\/p>\n<p>Its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program distributed more than $210 billion last year in loans and grants. The program was organized in a hurry by the Trump administration as millions of businesses temporarily shut down because of the coronavirus and was designed to quickly send out money to help companies keep up on their bills.<\/p>\n<p>Ware\u2019s office released a report explaining that the agency neglected to cross-reference applications against the Treasury Department\u2019s \u201cDo Not Pay\u201d system:<\/p>\n<p>The Do Not Pay system was set up in 2011 to reduce improper payments to people who are dead, convicted of tax fraud or barred from receiving federal contracts, among other red flags. Mr. Ware found 117,135 applicants who got grants and 75,180 recipients who got loans despite matches in the system indicating a \u201chigh likelihood\u201d that the payments were improper.<\/p>\n<p>Other reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/shock-half-of-covid-19-unemployment-funds-may-have-gone-to-scammers\">indicate<\/a> that the federal government\u2019s enhanced unemployment aid program wasted billions of dollars on fraudulent requests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In June, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/pandemic-unemployment-fraud-benefits-stolen-a937ad9d-0973-4aad-814f-4ca47b72f67f.html?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_content=economy-business-unemploymentfraud\">Axios<\/a> revealed that as much as half of all unemployment benefits \u2014 around $400 billion \u2014 paid during COVID-19 may have been lost to scams and fraud, many of which were located outside of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnemployment fraud during the pandemic could easily reach $400 billion, according to some estimates, and the bulk of the money likely ended in the hands of foreign crime syndicates \u2014 making this not just theft, but a matter of national security,\u201d Axios explained. Up to 70% of the stolen funds \u201clikely left the country,\u201d flowing to groups based in China, Nigeria, Russia, and other hostile nations. The remainder was likely \u201cstolen by street gangs domestically, who have made up a greater share of the fraudsters in recent months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Department of Justice has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/lamborghinis-rappers-and-the-new-york-jets-the-4-craziest-examples-of-covid-stimulus-fraud\">devoting<\/a> resources into catching and prosecuting the fraudsters.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Fontrell Antonio Baines \u2014 an amateur rapper also known as \u201cNuke Bizzle\u201d \u2014 abused debit cards pre-loaded with unemployment benefits administered by the California Employment Development Department. The Justice Department said that before his scheme was uncovered, Baines \u201cbragged about his ability to defraud the EDD in a music video posted on YouTube and in postings to his Instagram account.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a music video entitled \u201cEDD,\u201d Baines boasted that he would \u201cgo to the bank with a stack of these\u201d as he held up envelopes from the agency. Another rapper in the video said that \u201cyou gotta sell cocaine, I just file a claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roughly $3.7 billion in federal aid went to fraudsters barred from receiving federal dollars, according to a report from the Small Business Administration.The agency offered low-interest, fixed-rate, long-term aid to help companies survive COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession. However, tens of thousands of people abused the system amid bureaucratic incompetence.The New York Times reported:The finding adds to a mountain of evidence chronicling what the Small Business Administration\u2019s inspector general, Hannibal Ware, called an \u201cunprecedented amount of fraud\u201d in the agency\u2019s pandemic relief efforts. In October, Mr. Ware\u2019s office chastised the agency for improperly doling out billions in relief money to self-employed people who made \u201cflawed or illogical\u201d claims of having additional workers on their payroll.Its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program distributed more than $210 billion last year in loans and grants. The program was organized in a hurry by the Trump administration as millions of businesses temporarily shut down because of the coronavirus and was designed to quickly send out money to help companies keep up on their bills.Ware\u2019s office released a report explaining that the agency neglected to cross-reference applications against the Treasury Department\u2019s \u201cDo Not Pay\u201d system:The Do Not Pay system was set up in 2011 to reduce improper payments to people who are dead, convicted of tax fraud or barred from receiving federal contracts, among other red flags. Mr. Ware found 117,135 applicants who got grants and 75,180 recipients who got loans despite matches in the system indicating a \u201chigh likelihood\u201d that the payments were improper.Other reports indicate that the federal government\u2019s enhanced unemployment aid program wasted billions of dollars on fraudulent requests.\u00a0In June, Axios revealed that as much as half of all unemployment benefits \u2014 around $400 billion \u2014 paid during COVID-19 may have been lost to scams and fraud, many of which were located outside of the United States.\u201cUnemployment fraud during the pandemic could easily reach $400 billion, according to some estimates, and the bulk of the money likely ended in the hands of foreign crime syndicates \u2014 making this not just theft, but a matter of national security,\u201d Axios explained. Up to 70% of the stolen funds \u201clikely left the country,\u201d flowing to groups based in China, Nigeria, Russia, and other hostile nations. The remainder was likely \u201cstolen by street gangs domestically, who have made up a greater share of the fraudsters in recent months.\u201dIndeed, the Department of Justice has been devoting resources into catching and prosecuting the fraudsters.For instance, Fontrell Antonio Baines \u2014 an amateur rapper also known as \u201cNuke Bizzle\u201d \u2014 abused debit cards pre-loaded with unemployment benefits administered by the California Employment Development Department. The Justice Department said that before his scheme was uncovered, Baines \u201cbragged about his ability to defraud the EDD in a music video posted on YouTube and in postings to his Instagram account.\u201d\u00a0In a music video entitled \u201cEDD,\u201d Baines boasted that he would \u201cgo to the bank with a stack of these\u201d as he held up envelopes from the agency. Another rapper in the video said that \u201cyou gotta sell cocaine, I just file a claim.\u201dThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1073149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1073149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1073149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1073149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1073149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}