$163 billion of COVID relief was stolen. Republicans must get to the bottom of it
Massive fraud in pandemic-era federal relief programs should be at the top of Republicans' agenda.
massive, massive reallocation of wealth. Wasted stolen gifted and grifted.
Huge scam.........now Dust in the Wind.
How much was stolen?
Official estimates—which admittedly understate real losses—are staggering. The DOL IG estimates $163 billion was lost, including to fraud. That is based on an estimated improper payment rate of 18.71 percent from July 2020 to June 2021. But that misses the massive spike in claims early in the pandemic, along with losses under the PUA program, which was most prone to abuse. Counting those factors, unofficial loss estimates range to as high as $400 billion, or an astonishing 40 percent of all benefits paid. Significant shares were likely stolen by overseas criminal gangs, including in China and Russia.
