Select Subcommittee Releases New Pandemic Relief Fraud Figures in Advance of Hearing with Federal Watchdogs

Washington, D.C. (June 13, 2022) – Tomorrow, June 14, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, will hold a hybrid hearing on federal efforts to address fraud in pandemic relief programs. In advance of tomorrow's hearing, the Select Subcommittee released a staff memorandum with new data obtained from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), and the United States Secret Service (USSS). The memo includes up-to-date figures on the efforts by federal investigative and law enforcement agencies to reclaim fraudulently obtained taxpayer funds.

Following passage of the bipartisan CARES Act in March 2020, over $2 trillion in economic relief was made available to American workers, families, businesses, and state and local governments. While much of this relief reached eligible Americans and was instrumental in preventing an economic depression, the Trump Administration failed to establish processes and policies to prevent and detect fraud in relief programs, leading to unprecedented fraudulent payments.

Today's memo highlights these key figures:

• Over $10 billion: Amount of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) funds returned to the government as a result of SBA OIG investigations and financial institution actions, as of June 2, 2022 representing an increase of nearly $5 billion since SBA OIG's April 2022 Semiannual Report to Congress

• 1,481:Defendants criminally charged by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ Fraud Section across 1,003 cases, involving over $1.07 billion in losses from PPP, COVID-19 EIDL, and Pandemic Unemployment Insurance (PUI).

• At least 1,150: OIG investigations into PPP, COVID-19 EIDL, and PUI fraud currently ongoing, according to PRAC, covering more than $2.4 billion in losses.

• At least 1,200: Indictments resulting from OIG investigations into pandemic-related fraud, according to PRAC. These have led to over 950 arrests and more than 450 convictions.

• Over 1,000: Number of COVID-19 fraud-related cases opened by USSS in the last two years, leading to the seizure of more than $1 billion, as well as the return of approximately $86 million to crime victims.

With the help of additional resources secured by congressional Democrats in the American Rescue Plan, enacted into law in March 2021, the Biden Administration has prioritized strengthening fraud controls and holding wrongdoers accountable. This includes designating a Department of Justice prosecutor to lead criminal and civil enforcement efforts within the department to combat pandemic-related fraud and implementing a series of commonsense safeguards, including use of the Treasury Do Not Pay list and verification of applicant tax information. Today's staff memo also summarizes the new collaboration models within the Biden Administration that have expanded agencies' ability to root out fraud and return taxpayer dollars.

Click here for today's staff memo.