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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |
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Breaking Announcements
Attorney General Announces Task Force to Combat COVID-19 Fraud
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland directed the establishment of a new COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to bring together resources of the Department of Justice and other government agencies, including the PRAC, to enhance enforcement efforts against COVID-19 fraud. Read about this latest development here.
President Biden Announces New Initiative on
Identity Theft Prevention and Public Benefits
In a statement on May 17, 2021, President Biden announced a new initiative, to be led by the White House American Rescue Plan (ARP) Implementation Team, to bring a collaborative approach to proactively stop criminal syndicates from using stolen identities to steal pandemic-related government benefits. The White House ARP Implementation Team will work with DOJ's new task force, the PRAC, GAO, other IGs, and state auditors to develop recommendations to fight identity theft.
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Fraud Magazine, Running a marathon at a sprinter's pace.
The U.S. Congress has approved more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 relief. This record-setting amount has opened up new avenues for fraudsters to get their hands on money that isn't theirs. Fraud Magazine talks to two top fraud professionals—Linda Miller, Deputy Executive Director of the PRAC, and Mike Ware, Inspector General of the Small Business Administration—to find out how the oversight community is tackling COVID-19 fraud.
CNBC, Secret Service seizes $2 billion in fraudulent COVID unemployment payments, returns funds to states.
The Secret Service confiscated and returned to states about $2 billion in stolen pandemic unemployment relief funds, agency officials said Wednesday, May 12. Fraudsters used stolen identities to receive unemployment funds illegally. While identify theft is considered a typical crime these days, according to the Secret Service, the magnitude of pandemic relief has compounded criminal activity.
Washington Post, A man got $5 million in coronavirus aid for ‘sham businesses,’ feds say. He spent it on exotic cars.
On Friday, May 11, 2021, Homeland Security Investigations seized three exotic cars—a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and a Bentley—illegally purchased with pandemic relief funds. A southern California man received $5 million in pandemic relief after submitting fraudulent loan applications, claiming he needed financial help with his mortgage and businesses. He then laundered the money through a "sham business" to purchase luxury cars and vacations. Authorities have arrested and charged the individual with submitting counterfeit loan applications, identify theft, and money laundering.
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Read
Check out our recent report on COVID-19 in correctional and detention facilities
Compared to the general population, a larger percentage of COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths occur in correctional and detention facilities. Find out how federal facilities handled the spread.
Explore
Enhanced interactive dashboards from DOJ OIG increase transparency on COVID-19 in correctional facilities
DOJ OIG released new functionality for their interactive dashboards presenting data from Bureau of Prisons and Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering to increase transparency of information related to COVID-19 in correctional facilities. Check out the dashboards to explore the data here.
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Listen
New Podcast: VA OIG Discusses Insights from PRAC COVID-19 Testing Report
Members of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General recently sat down with host Adam Roy to discuss the federal COVID-19 Testing Report released by the PRAC in January. Learn how they worked with OIGs to pool data from six federal health care programs. Listen to the podcast here.
Watch
Data in Action Virtual Summit
PRAC Executive Director Robert Westbrooks and Susan Wilson from Informatica talk about the role of data and technology in the pandemic during a fireside chat hosted by Fedscoop. Register and watch the video here.
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Member Highlight
SBA’S Handling of Identity Theft in the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, OIG-SBA-21-15, May 6, 2021
As of January 31, 2021, SBA has referred 846,611 COVID-19 EIDL applications to the OIG, which is the loan application related to an identity theft complaint (individuals who indicate that they did not apply for a loan and believe they are a victim of identity theft) and any related applications (applications with the same email address, phone number, or physical address). SBA officials did not know the exact number of individuals who have filed an identity theft complaint because they did not track each complaint.
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