Biden says he will prosecute criminals who “stole” billions of COVID aid to “small businesses and millions of Americans” with the Justice Department’s “chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.”
- “Watch dogs are back,” President Biden told Congress on Tuesday
- He used the appeal to the state of the Union to declare repression against COVID fraud
- He said the justice ministry would nominate a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud
- Officials estimate that about $ 100 billion has disappeared from the aid
President Joe Biden used the Union State’s address on Tuesday to declare repression against COVID-19 fraudsters with the Attorney General for Pandemic Fraud.
Republicans and Democrats cheers as he said he was prosecuting criminals who stole billions of dollars in aid.
Officials estimate that about $ 100 billion has disappeared and hundreds of investigations are under way.
Biden made his statement with no predecessor, Donald Trumpwhich limited the work of regulators or removed them altogether.
“The previous administration not only increased the deficit by cutting taxes on the very rich and corporations, but also undermined the oversight bodies whose job it was to protect the pandemic from the loss,” Biden said.
He said he was in charge: “The watch dogs are coming back.”
“We are prosecuting criminals who stole billions of aid money for small businesses and millions of Americans,” he continued.
“And tonight I announce that the Ministry of Justice will appoint a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.”
President Joe Biden announced during his address on the state of the Union that the Ministry of Justice will appoint a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud
Orange County prosecutors say Nguyen’s social services have charged up to $ 700 per priest to file fake unemployment claims for people who do not qualify for Covid-19 relief money. Ten people have been accused of fraudulent unemployment schemes
In total, the US government has spent about $ 6 trillion in emergency aid on COVID-19 to prevent an economic catastrophe, and the fire hose has attracted a flock of impatient fraudsters.
The suspects include a former NFL player and reality TV star, and in a number of lawsuits filed so far, prosecutors say the proceeds of the fraud were spent on everything from Lamborghinis and Rolex watches to contract killings.
The scale of the problem is such that the Secret Service has appointed Assistant Special Agent Roy Dotson of the Jacksonville Field Office as the National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator.
“Currently, the Secret Service has more than 900 active criminal investigations into fraud specific to the pandemic relief funds,” Dotson said in a statement at the time.
“This is a combination of the benefits of the pandemic and all other compensation programs. Every state is affected, some more than others.
Many of the scams involved fake applications for Wage Protection Program (PPP) funds designed to support small businesses, but scams involving unemployment insurance were also widespread, investigators said.
The massive fraud took place in three separate rounds of funding during the Trump and Biden administrations, and the current White House is quick to describe it as a problem that President Joe Biden “inherited” from his predecessor.
Former New York Jets successor Joshua Bellamy has been charged with fraud and conspiracy to participate in a $ 1.2 million PPP scheme
Reality TV star Maurice Fain, who starred in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison on charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme and PPP fraud
In one case, former New York Jets successor Joshua Bellamy was accused of fraud and conspiracy to participate in a $ 1.2 million PPP scheme.
After receiving the loan for his company Drip Entertainment LLC, Bellamy admitted that he used the funds for personal belongings, such as jewelry and a stay at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Bellamy, 32, pleaded guilty last June to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
Also, reality TV star Maurice Fain, who starred in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison on charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme and PPP fraud.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Kurt R. Erskine said last year that Fein “plans to use the PPP program as a cover for his long-running Ponzi scheme.”
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