{"id":2073911,"date":"2023-10-20T08:56:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T12:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cyber-fraud-rings-in-china-other-us-adversaries-stole-billions-in-pandemic-relief-funds-congress-hears\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T09:00:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T13:00:45","slug":"cyber-fraud-rings-in-china-other-us-adversaries-stole-billions-in-pandemic-relief-funds-congress-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cyber-fraud-rings-in-china-other-us-adversaries-stole-billions-in-pandemic-relief-funds-congress-hears\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress was informed that cyber fraud rings in China and other US adversaries have stolen billions of dollars in pandemic relief funds."},"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\">44<\/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%2Fcyber-fraud-rings-in-china-other-us-adversaries-stole-billions-in-pandemic-relief-funds-congress-hears%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=2073911&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--><blockquote>\n<h2>Trillions of COVID-19 Relief\u2062 Funds Funneled to Adversarial Nations, Congressional Panel \u2064Reveals<\/h2>\n<p>According to testimony before the Oversight \u200bSubcommittee of the House Ways \u2064and Means Committee, lax\u200c anti-waste and fraud controls allowed \u2062as much as half of the trillions of tax dollars spent on pandemic relief benefits to end up in the hands of entities in China, Russia, and other U.S. adversarial nations.<\/p>\n<p>Linda Miller, former Deputy Executive Director \u200cof the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), disclosed that \u2064estimates suggest half of the\u200b Pandemic unemployment assistance fraud went to\u200b adversarial nations. This revelation came\u2063 in response to a\u2063 question\u2063 about a recent federal prosecution of Chinese government-linked hackers who stole \u200c$20 million in relief funds.<\/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<h2 class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-4 sm:line-clamp-3\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/inspectors-generals-testify-to-house-oversight-committee-on-waste-fraud-and-abuse-in-government-5111346?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"text-sm sm:text-base\">Inspectors Generals Testify to House Oversight Committee on \u200cWaste, Fraud, and Abuse in Government<\/h3>\n<p>            <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">3\/9\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[70px] sm:basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/inspectors-generals-testify-to-house-oversight-committee-on-waste-fraud-and-abuse-in-government-5111346?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">\n            <picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" https:><\/source><source type=\"image\/*\" https:><\/source>\n            <\/picture>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-4 sm:line-clamp-3\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/house-oversight-demanding-epa-documents-following-allegations-of-waste-and-fraud-5086174?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"text-sm sm:text-base\">House Oversight Demanding EPA Documents\u2063 Following Allegations of Waste and Fraud<\/h3>\n<p>            <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">2\/27\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[70px] sm:basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/house-oversight-demanding-epa-documents-following-allegations-of-waste-and-fraud-5086174?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">\n            <picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" https:><\/source><source type=\"image\/*\" https:><\/source>\n            <\/picture>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Linda Miller, an anti-waste and fraud expert consultant, previously served as the \u2062Deputy Executive Director of the Pandemic Response\u2062 Accountability Committee (PRAC) in the\u2063 Department\u200c of Justice\u2064 (DOJ). She is also a former Assistant Director of the Government Accountability Office&#8217;s \u200c(GAO) Forensic \u200dAudits \u2062and Investigative Service \u2064group.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">During her prepared testimony, Miller highlighted the vulnerabilities \u200din the system \u2062that allowed for widespread fraud. She\u200c stated, &#8220;The nearly $5\u200b trillion in government relief spending during the \u200bCOVID-19 pandemic\u2014much of which\u200c was disbursed as direct\u2063 payments\u2062 to citizens\u2014created\u200d the perfect storm for fraud.&#8221;<\/div>\n<p>Miller emphasized that agencies were unprepared\u2064 for the fraud due to a lack of \u2063attention on fraud risks. \u200cShe pointed\u200c out that the\u2062 Government Accountability Office (GAO) had issued a framework for managing fraud risks in federal programs in 2015, but preventative controls were not established.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Department of Justice Inspector General Michael\u200c Horowitz addresses a Congressional panel in \u2063February\u2062 2023.\u200d (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the subcommittee, \u2064shared a personal anecdote about his wife&#8217;s experience with fraudulent benefit applications. He revealed\u2063 that his wife, who managed an Arizona surgery center,\u200d received numerous benefit requests from \u2062individuals who had never worked there \u200cor hadn&#8217;t worked there in years. The situation reached\u2064 its peak when his wife received benefit requests in her\u2063 own name.<\/p>\n<p>Schweikert \u2064highlighted the extent of the fraud, stating, &#8220;We have been tracking some crazy\u2063 stories of [pandemic relief] unemployment insurance fraud that was\u200c converted to gift cards,\u200d which were \u200cthen used to buy cars. These cars were shipped to Africa \u2062as a way \u2064to launder the money.&#8221; He also mentioned evidence of foreign entities using stolen\u2063 funds to support violent activities overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Shea, Director of Audits, Forensic Audits, and Investigative Services at the GAO, confirmed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cyber-fraud-rings-in-china-other-us-adversaries-stole-billions-in-pandemic-relief-funds-congress-hears\/\" title=\"Congress was informed that cyber fraud rings in China and other US adversaries have stolen billions of dollars in pandemic relief funds.\">foreign actors exploited pandemic\u2062 relief programs<\/a>. She emphasized that federal program managers focused primarily on processing \u2062benefits, neglecting their responsibility to prevent \u2062fraud.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Amy Simon, who worked in the Department of Labor&#8217;s Employment and\u200b Training Administration (ETA) during \u200dthe pandemic, testified that the full extent of pandemic benefit fraud is still unknown. She revealed that\u2063 preliminary federal \u200destimates \u200csuggest at least $191 billion in improper payments, with the figure expected to rise to $240 billion or more. Simon also \u200chighlighted the involvement of\u200b serious organized crime rings in \u2064pandemic fraud.<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>The U.S. Department of Labor Building on March 26, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Edelman\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>These revelations underscore the urgent need \u2062for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/investigators-scramble-to-recover-pandemic-small-business-support-lost-to-fraud\/\" title=\"Investigators rush to reclaim pandemic small business aid lost to fraud.\">stronger anti-fraud measures<\/a> and oversight in government relief programs. The scale of the fraud and its impact on national \u200bsecurity cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-no-new-proactive-step-on-tiktok-deal-under-biden\/\" title=\"White House: No New \u2018Proactive Step\u2019 on TikTok Deal Under Biden\">potential national security risks<\/a> associated with a significant portion of COVID-19 relief\u2062 funds\u200d ending up in the hands of adversarial nations, as \u200demphasized in the statement?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Cdote during the hearing, revealing that his own father had been\u2064 a victim of unemployment insurance fraud. He emphasized the need for stronger controls and oversight to prevent \u2064such\u2063 fraud from occurring in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The revelation that a significant portion of COVID-19 relief funds has ended up in the\u2063 hands of adversarial nations raises serious concerns. Not only does \u2063this undermine the intended\u2062 purpose of providing relief to American citizens and businesses affected by the pandemic, but it also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stand-up-to-china-republicans-press-biden-to-take-enforcement-action-against-tiktok\/\" title=\"GOP urges Biden to act against TikTok and China.\">poses national security risks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Entities in adversarial nations such as China and Russia may misuse these funds to advance their \u2064own interests, potentially funding malicious activities such as cyberattacks, espionage, or projects that undermine U.S. national security. This highlights the importance\u2063 of\u200b robust anti-waste and fraud controls in government spending, \u2064particularly during times of crisis.<\/p>\n<p>It is crucial that the U.S. government takes immediate action to rectify this \u2064situation and prevent further funds from being funneled \u200cto adversarial nations. \u200dThis includes strengthening oversight mechanisms, implementing stricter fraud prevention measures, and holding accountable those \u200dresponsible for allowing such fraud to occur.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice, in collaboration with other relevant agencies, should launch thorough investigations into these fraudulent activities and prosecute those involved. Additionally, Congress should enact legislation\u2064 that strengthens laws \u2062and regulations related to the disbursement of \u2063relief funds \u2063to ensure more stringent oversight and accountability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anti-waste and fraud controls were insufficient in overseeing trillions of tax dollars allocated for COVID-19 relief benefits. Shockingly, up to 50% of these funds ended up in the hands of entities from China, Russia, and other adversarial nations, as revealed by a congressional panel on Thursday. Disturbing data indeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":2073912,"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-2073911","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\/2073911","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2073912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}