Pandemic Unemployment Fraud
made worse by Trump administration
mishandling of entire pandemic
Rises to Estimated $45.6 Billion
By Niraj Chokshi, NY TIMES
A federal watchdog investigating the distribution of pandemic relief funds has tripled its estimate of the amount of money paid out in unemployment insurance that can be attributed to certain forms of fraud.
The watchdog, the office of the inspector general of the Labor Department, previously attributed about $16 billion to duplicate payments or payments made to dead people, individuals with suspicious email accounts or federal prisoners.
The office now says the federal government probably made $45.6 billion in such payments!
“Hundreds of billions in pandemic funds
attracted fraudsters seeking to exploit the U.I. program
— resulting in historic levels of fraud,”
Larry D. Turner, the inspector general, said in the statement.
continued...
The investigations cover Federal payments made from
March 2020 to April 2022, when the government sent out
relief money to both businesses and individuals, intending to
bolster the economy, as coronavirus cases under the Trump
administration were allowed to run rampant and devastate
the nation - leading to the deaths of over one million Americans.
Hot Forum Topics
