{"id":2341736,"date":"2024-09-16T09:42:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T13:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mind-boggling-billions-gone-and-little-to-show-for-it-years-after-rampant-covid-fraud-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-16T09:47:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T13:47:33","slug":"mind-boggling-billions-gone-and-little-to-show-for-it-years-after-rampant-covid-fraud-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mind-boggling-billions-gone-and-little-to-show-for-it-years-after-rampant-covid-fraud-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Mind-boggling\u2019: Billions gone and little to show for it years after rampant COVID fraud &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">34<\/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%2Fmind-boggling-billions-gone-and-little-to-show-for-it-years-after-rampant-covid-fraud-washington-examiner%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=2341736&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>The \u200carticle discusses the substantial financial losses due to fraud in COVID-era relief programs, \u2062with estimates ranging from $200 billion to half a trillion dollars. A report by a Republican-led House\u2064 Oversight Committee highlights serious deficiencies\u2062 in state oversight, revealing instances where individuals with a history of identity theft were \u200chired to process unemployment insurance \u2062claims. During a recent hearing, lawmakers \u200cexpressed concern over the massive amounts lost to fraud, particularly with unemployment benefits, and emphasized the alarming ease with which criminals exploited these programs.\u200c <\/p>\n<p>Congress allocated $40 million to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to combat \u2062this\u2062 fraud, but there\u2062 are concerns that the committee&#8217;s authority will expire next year. Speakers at the hearing underscored the urgency of \u2063expanding oversight\u200b capabilities and departmental collaboration to better prevent fraud. The \u200bU.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that\u200b fraud accounted for 11\u2064 to 15 percent of benefits paid during the pandemic, with 100-135\u2064 billion dollars lost. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-starts-evacuating-american-citizens-from-sudan\/\" title=\"U.S. Starts Evacuating American Citizens From Sudan\">situation remains dire<\/a>, with many fraudulent actors still at large and significant\u200d funds \u200cmisallocated, impacting \u200blegitimate recipients of relief intended to aid \u2063small businesses and the unemployed.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">&lsquo;Mind-boggling&rsquo;: Billions gone and little to show for it years after rampant COVID fraud<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1761383\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Years after the passage of federal COVID-era relief and the subsequent loss of likely hundreds of billions of those taxpayer dollars, lawmakers are still unsure where that money went, how to get it back, and seemingly have done little to prevent it from happening again.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Federal watchdog and other reports estimate anywhere from $200 billion to half a trillion was lost to waste, fraud and abuse across various federal and state COVID-era programs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Insiders, including those who worked for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-staggering-levels-of-fraud-with-more-than-100-billion-in-covid-19-aid-misspent-or-stolen\/\" title=\"Report: \u2018Staggering\u2019 Levels Of Fraud, With More Than 0 Billion In Covid-19 Aid \u2018Misspent\u2019 Or Stolen\">state workforce agencies<\/a>, conspired with organized crime factions and other individuals to defraud state UI programs and the states did little to stop them,&rdquo; a Republican-led House Oversight Committee report released this week said. &ldquo;Some states even hired individuals convicted of identity theft to process UI claims.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Examples like that and the scope of the amount lost was the subject of a House Oversight hearing this week where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and experts grappled with the scope of the lost funds and what to do about it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The estimated amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse in COVID-related programs are simply &hellip; mind-boggling,&rdquo; Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said at the hearing. &ldquo;Half a trillion dollars. Maybe more. Much of it lost to criminal actors and our enemies. Often using comically simple tactics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The most common among those tactics was stealing unemployment dollars doled out by the federal government during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>One <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayorkas-sworn-in-as-secretary-of-homeland-security-despite-heavy-gop-opposition\/\" title=\"Mayorkas Sworn In As Secretary Of Homeland Security Despite Heavy GOP Opposition\">inspector general report<\/a> from the Small Business Adminstration estimated at least $200 billion in taxpayer money was lost.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We estimate that SBA disbursed over $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDLs, EIDL Targeted Advances, Supplemental Targeted Advances, and PPP loans,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;This means at least 17 percent of all COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to <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.\">potentially fraudulent actors<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Nearly all of those &ldquo;fraudulent actors&rdquo; have so far gotten away with the theft.<\/p>\n<p>Congress approved $40 million for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, tasked with finding and preventing fraud. That committee and other investigative efforts have shown the COVID-era fraud was rampant and that little has been done to recover those funds.<\/p>\n<p>That committee&rsquo;s authority expires next year.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Every dollar that goes to a fraudster doesn&rsquo;t go to the small business, to the unemployed, to others that Congress were intending to help,&rdquo; Michael Horowitz, Chair of PRAC, said at the oversight hearing this week. &ldquo;If we want to continue to advance the fight against improper payments and fraud, we shouldn&rsquo;t allow this important and fraud fighting tool to expire.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Horowitz also said at the hearing that there is &ldquo;clearly insufficient&rdquo; access to data for oversight, such as accessing Social Security Administration&rsquo;s death database so that payments are not sent to deceased individuals. He also pushed for his authority to be expanded to helping other agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Orice Williams Brown, chief operating officer at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, also testified at the hearing that federal agencies can do more to prevent fraud of this kind. But federal agencies are not alone in the blame.<\/p>\n<p>The House Oversight report released this week is called the &ldquo;Widespread Failures and Fraud in Pandemic Unemployment Relief Programs&rdquo; showing that states mishandled funds doled out by the federal government for unemployment insurance, sometimes with little oversight.<\/p>\n<p>From the report:<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates 11 to 15 percent of total benefits paid during the pandemic were fraudulent, totaling between $100 to $135 billion. The Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Inspector General (OIG) estimates that at least $191 billion in pandemic UI payments could have been improperly paid, with a significant portion attributable to fraud. As of March 2023, states reported recoveries of improper payments in an amount of only $6.8 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The design of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program led to massive fraud. During the program&rsquo;s first nine months, claimants did not have to provide any evidence of earnings or prior work which made the program susceptible to fraud. DOL reported that the PUA program had a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/critics-fear-biden-revival-of-pandemic-program-with-high-improper-payment-rate\/\" title=\"Critics worry about Biden&#039;s revival of pandemic program due to high improper payment rate.\">total improper payment rate<\/a> of 35.9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides have lamented the lost taxpayer dollars, but so far little has been done to prevent it from happening again, even as Congress continues to pass multi-trillion dollar spending bills often with little time for lawmakers to review.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers passed two bills in 2023 to increase reporting from federal agencies on fraud and to prevent those previously convicted of financial crimes from receiving certain federal payment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The House Oversight report recommended stronger security measures, cross checking with other relevant databases, more oversight and transparency, and more documentation from benefit recipients.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If this is not a call to action&hellip;&rdquo; Sessions said at the hearing. &ldquo;I simply do not know what is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1761383\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1761383\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**\u2018Incredible\u2019: Billions Lost with Little Accountability Years After Widespread COVID Fraud (The Center Square)** \u2013 Years after the implementation of federal COVID relief measures, which likely resulted in the loss of hundreds of billions in taxpayer funds, lawmakers remain uncertain about the whereabouts of that money and how to recover it. Reports from federal watchdogs estimate that between $200 billion and $500 billion was lost due to waste, fraud, and abuse across various federal and state COVID-related programs. A recent report from a Republican-led House Oversight Committee revealed that individuals within state workforce agencies colluded with organized crime groups to defraud unemployment insurance programs, while some states even employed people with prior convictions for identity theft to handle UI claims. This alarming situation was discussed during a House Oversight hearing where lawmakers from both parties and experts examined the extent of the financial losses and potential solutions. \u201cThe estimated figures for waste, fraud, and abuse in COVID-related programs are simply astonishing,\u201d stated Pete Sessions, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce. He noted that potentially half a trillion dollars\u2014if not more\u2014was lost primarily due to criminal activities employing shockingly simple methods. One prevalent tactic involved stealing unemployment benefits distributed by the federal government during the pandemic; an inspector general report from the Small Business Administration indicated at least $200 billion may have been misappropriated through fraudulent loans related to COVID-19 assistance programs. Nearly all those responsible for these fraudulent acts have yet to be held accountable. Congress allocated $40 million for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), which is tasked with identifying and preventing fraud; however, investigations reveal rampant fraud during this period with minimal recovery efforts made thus far\u2014and PRAC&#8217;s authority is set to expire next year. Michael Horowitz, Chair of PRAC emphasized at this week\u2019s oversight hearing that every dollar lost to fraud detracts from support intended for small businesses or unemployed individuals: \u201cIf we want to continue combating improper payments and fraud effectively, we must not let this crucial tool lapse.\u201d He also highlighted inadequate access to data necessary for oversight purposes as well as a need for expanded authority across agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Orice Williams Brown from the U.S. Government Accountability Office testified similarly about how federal agencies could enhance their efforts against such fraudulent activities; however blame does not rest solely on them alone\u2014the House Oversight report titled \u201cWidespread Failures and Fraud in Pandemic Unemployment Relief Programs\u201d indicates significant mishandling by states regarding federally allocated unemployment insurance funds often lacking proper oversight mechanisms.<\/p>\n<p>According to estimates by GAO 11-15% of total pandemic benefits were fraudulent amounting up between $100-$135 billion while DOL\u2019s OIG suggested at least $191 billion might have been improperly disbursed largely due attributed towards fraudulent claims stemming mainly from design flaws within Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program allowing claimants initial nine months without evidence proving earnings or work history leading high rates improper payments reaching 35%. Despite bipartisan concern over wasted taxpayer dollars little has changed since then even as Congress continues passing multi-trillion dollar spending bills frequently without adequate review time allotted legislators passed two bills earlier this year aimed increasing reporting requirements around agency-level fraud prevention targeting those previously convicted financial crimes receiving certain types government assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The House Oversight report recommended implementing stronger security protocols cross-referencing relevant databases enhancing transparency along requiring more documentation benefit recipients receive stating: &#8220;If this isn\u2019t call action\u2026 I don\u2019t know what is,&#8221; concluded Sessions during hearing session<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2341737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/covid-vaccine-lawsuit.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[40093,40978,36155],"class_list":["post-2341736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-covid-fraud","tag-financial-oversight","tag-government-accountability"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/covid-vaccine-lawsuit.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341736","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2341736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2341737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2341736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2341736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2341736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}