{"id":2029829,"date":"2023-09-12T19:55:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T23:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unemployment-insurance-fraud-during-covid-19-could-total-135-billion-watchdog\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T19:59:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T23:59:21","slug":"unemployment-insurance-fraud-during-covid-19-could-total-135-billion-watchdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unemployment-insurance-fraud-during-covid-19-could-total-135-billion-watchdog\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 may lead to $135B in Unemployment Insurance Fraud: Watchdog."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/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%2Funemployment-insurance-fraud-during-covid-19-could-total-135-billion-watchdog%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=2029829&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--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Hundreds of billions\u2062 of dollars worth of unemployment insurance (UI) payments \u200chanded over during the COVID-19 pandemic\u2064 are estimated to \u200bhave been fraudulent, according to a recent report\u200d by a federal watchdog agency that admitted the \u201cfull extent\u201d of the fraud \u2063remains unknown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Responding to massive \u200bjob losses during the pandemic, Congress created new\u200c temporary unemployment insurance programs to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-passes-budget-resolution-in-51-50-vote\/\" title=\"Senate passes budget resolution in 51-50 vote\">provide relief<\/a> for \u2064those who \u200blost their jobs at the time. However, the \u201cunprecedented demand for benefits and need to quickly implement the new\u2062 programs increased the risk of fraud,\u201d \u2063said the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in \u2064its Sept. 12 report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-106696.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>The GAO estimates that &#8220;the\u2064 amount of \u2063fraud in unemployment insurance (UI) \u200cprograms during the COVID-19 pandemic was likely between\u2062 $100 billion and \u200b$135 billion.\u2064 This is\u2062 about 11 percent and 15 percent, \u200drespectively, of\u2064 the total amount \u2064of UI benefits \u200dpaid during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/miami-influencer-jailed-for-5-years-over-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme-5488145\">Miami Influencer Jailed for 5 \u2064Years Over COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/8\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/miami-influencer-jailed-for-5-years-over-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme-5488145\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/371-charged-for-covid-19-fraud-totaling-836-million-doj-5479353\">371 Charged for COVID-19 Fraud\u2064 Totaling $836 Million: DOJ<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/23\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/371-charged-for-covid-19-fraud-totaling-836-million-doj-5479353\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The agency said that \u201cthe\u2064 full extent of UI fraud during the pandemic will likely never be \u2063known with certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The estimate covers the \u2064period from April 2020, when the first full\u200b month of payments for UI programs began, to\u2062 May 2023, which marked the end \u200cof\u200b the COVID-19 public\u2064 health \u200bemergency.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the risk \u2062of fraud and other challenges,\u2062 the GAO added the UI system\u200d to its High\u2063 Risk List in June last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/high-risk-list\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">High Risk List<\/a>, \u2064updated at the beginning of each new Congress, details government programs\u2063 and operations that are \u201cvulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement,\u2063 or \u200bin need of\u200b transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Finding\u200d the Fraud<\/h2>\n<p>In \u2062a draft of \u2063the \u2064report, the Department of \u200bLabor raised suspicions about the\u2062 GAO\u2019s methodology and \u200dclaimed that the resulting estimates were likely overstated. \u200dHowever, the GAO dismissed these suggestions, noting that it took stringent steps to determine \u2063the range\u2064 of fraud.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>The report points out that the Labor\u2062 Department provided financial aid to\u2062 states during \u200dthe pandemic\u2063 for initiatives like UI systems and processes, including fraud prevention, detection, investigation, and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>By May 1, 2023, states had identified $55.8 billion in fraudulent and nonfraudulent unemployment insurance overpayments. Between \u2063March 2020 \u2064and March 2023, states had recovered $6.8 \u2062billion in such \u2064defrauded funds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UI system has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unemployment-insurance-fraud-during-covid-19-could-total-135-billion-watchdog\/\" title=\"COVID-19 may lead to 5B in Unemployment Insurance Fraud: Watchdog.\">faced long-standing challenges<\/a> with program integrity, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d the GAO said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Up to\u2064 $45.6 billion in UI \u200dpandemic benefits\u200c (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oig.dol.gov\/public\/reports\/oa\/2022\/19-22-005-03-315.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) may have been fraudulently claimed, the Department of Labor&#8217;s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said last year.<\/p>\n<p>The OIG identified that fraudulent\u2063 UI\u200b payments were paid\u2064 to individuals with Social Security numbers that were filed in multiple states\u200c and\u2062 were used to file\u2063 claims with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/covid-relief-fraud-likely-the-biggest-fraud-in-u-s-history\/\" title=\"COVID Relief Fraud Likely the Biggest Fraud in U.S. History\">suspicious email accounts<\/a>. Some numbers also belonged to federal prisoners and deceased persons.<\/p>\n<h2>Other Fraudulent Funds<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to unemployment insurance, other government programs initiated during the pandemic have also been the subject of\u2063 fraud, according to various\u200c reports.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>In January, the federal\u2064 watchdog Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) flagged\u2064 more than 69,600 \u201cquestionable\u201d Social Security numbers for \u201cpotential fraud and identity theft\u201d linked to the U.S. government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/watchdog-identifies-5-billion-in-potential-covid-19-relief-fraud-5022290\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">small \u2064business COVID-19 relief<\/a> program.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Small Business \u2064Administration\u2019s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) \u200ddisbursed nearly \u200c$1.2 trillion in assistance to small businesses. PRAC estimated\u2062 that \u200c$5.4 billion of\u200b these funds may have\u200c been fraudulently \u2062claimed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>In June, the\u200b SBA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-former-ag-barr-initiated-spying-program-on-americans-back-in-1992\/\" title=\"FLASHBACK: Former AG Barr Initiated Spying Program on Americans Back in 1992\">inspector general<\/a> released a report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sba.gov\/sites\/sbagov\/files\/2023-06\/SBA%20OIG%20Report%2023-09.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) \u2062showing \u2063that\u200b tens of billions of dollars were stolen via EIDL and PPP\u200d programs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAt least 17 percent of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed \u2063to potentially fraudulent actors,\u201d the report said.\u2062 It estimates \u2062that EIDL \u200bsaw a fraud of $136 billion while PPP fraud was at $64 billion.<\/p>\n<p>These actors were able to &#8220;take advantage of the economic crisis and\u200d divert funding intended for deserving, eligible American small business \u200bowners.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent report by a federal watchdog agency revealed that fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) payments during the COVID-19 pandemic are estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The report acknowledges that the true extent of the fraud is still uncertain. Congress established temporary unemployment measures to address the significant job losses caused by the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2029830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029829","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\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2029829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2029829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2029829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}