By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US government likely to award some $5.4 billion in COVID- to aid people with problems with their Social Security numbers, the federal watchdog said in a report released Monday. ,323 Suspicious Social Security Numbers (SSNs) Used to Get $5.4 Billion from Small Business Administration (SBA) for COVID-2022 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID- EIDL) Program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). “
In its report, the regulator said the loans were disbursed between April 2020 and October 2022, the The report comes ahead of a hearing scheduled for Wednesday by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on pandemic spending fraud.
on 19,2020 $3.6B worth of Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans canceled by August 2020, the report added.
The United States is investigating numerous cases of fraud linked to U.S. government aid programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program, Unemployment Insurance, and Medicare. May 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland (Merrick Garland) created the COVID- Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice commissioned U.S. Attorney Kay Kay to Vin Chambers leads investigation into fraudsters who used the pandemic as a pretext to defraud government aid programs.
Report reveals “significant fraud and lack of basic anti-fraud controls, as well as the Biden administration’s swift action” How serious are the consequences of restoring strong anti-abuse measures in these emergency small business programs,” Gene Sperling, a senior adviser to President Biden, said in an emailed statement.
regulator report mentioned that in 2021, the US Small Business Administration made improvements to its aid program controls. Biden took office in January of that year. . During the coronavirus outbreak, by using already Strategies such as personal Social Security numbers to get $6 billion from the U.S. unemployment insurance program.
Also in September, federal prosecutors indicted dozens of defendants accused of receiving government aid $69 million was stolen from a program that was supposed to feed children in need during the pandemic.
