In a recent article in the New York Times, David Fahrenthold outlined the big issue facing prosecutors investigating COVID-era fraud: the sheer magnitude of it. The title of the article, “Prosecutors Struggle to Catch Up to a Tidal Wave of Pandemic Fraud,” is dead on.
The various COVID relief programs pumped $5 trillion into the economy, incredibly quickly, and with relatively minimal vetting. Within that enormous and necessary set of economic stimulus packages was likely the greatest amount of fraud committed on the government in the shortest amount of time in history.
COVID relief unleashed a gushing river of free money that few could resist taking from. While certain businesses like restaurants and hotels were instantly and obviously impacted by the pandemic restrictions, few businesses were un-affected and virtually all business owners were concerned about COVID’s impact on their workforces and bottom line. All told, almost 15 million different recipients applied and received 22 million loans and grants totaling almost 5.3 trillion dollars. Many recipients were in desperate need of a cash infusion to keep their employees paid and to keep paying the mortgage or rent in the face of slashed revenue. But some opportunistic fraudsters looking for a quick score simply invented a business or a workforce, applied and collected easy money from the government. It must have felt like taking candy from a baby.
The vast majority of money recipients did not commit fraud but did...
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