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U.S. NEWS Friday 18 November 2022
IRS contractor gets more scrutiny in congressional report

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and Reform after privacy
Associated Press advocates and lawmakers
WASHINGTON (AP) — made calls for the compa-
House investigators report- ny to be investigated.
ed Thursday that a federal “It is deeply disappoint-
contractor that provided ing that a company that
identity verification services received tens of millions
for the Internal Revenue in taxpayer dollars to help
Service exaggerated the Americans obtain these
amount of money being benefits may have hurt
lost to pandemic fraud in their ability to access that
an apparent attempt to critical relief,” said Rep. Jim
increase demand for its Clyburn, D-S.C., who chairs
product and that it also the coronavirus crisis sub-
overstated its capacity to committee.
provide services. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-
The investigation of ID.me, N.Y, who chairs the over-
which uses facial recogni- sight committee, said she
tion to verify identities in was “deeply concerned
some cases, was launched about ID.me providing in-
in April after critics of the accurate information to
software company said it federal agencies in order
could be a target of cy- The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on March 22, 2013. to be awarded millions of
Associated Press
berthreats and presented dollars in contracts.”
privacy concerns. Other of more than four hours, services. or baseless is premature “Excluding specific epi-
advocates were critical of though the firm claimed it The committees cited and we welcome addition- sodes, wait times have
a private company taking answered calls in far less ID.me CEO Blake Hall’s as- al oversight on this impor- generally been below 30
on what should be a core time, potentially delaying sertion that “America has tant matter.” minutes as they are today,”
government task of verify- pandemic relief funds to lost more than $400 bil- Neal pointed to statements Neal said.
ing people’s identities to millions of Americans. lion to fraudulent claims,” from officials in five states, Earlier this year, the IRS an-
receive benefits. The report said ID.me as- though the Department of including California, that nounced it would suspend
The report found that in 14 serted that there were Labor’s Office of Inspec- credit ID.me with helping to its use of ID.me’s facial rec-
states that contracted with significantly higher levels tor General has identified prevent billions in fraud. ognition technology to au-
ID.me for identity verifica- of pandemic fraud com- $45.7 billion in potential un- The report was commis- thenticate people who cre-
tion services including Cali- pared to other assessments employment fraud. sioned by the House Se- ate online accounts after
fornia, Texas, and Florida that were based on expert Terry Neal, a spokesper- lect Subcommittee on the the practice was criticized
wait times for ID.me video analysis in an apparent ef- son for ID.me, said “calling Coronavirus Crisis and the by privacy advocates and
chats reached an average fort to boost interest in its ID.me’s estimate too high Committee on Oversight lawmakers. q

U.S. agent, suspected smuggler killed off Puerto Rico coast

By MIKE BALSAMO and The FBI is leading the inves- ing airlifted to the Puerto the United States that also cursions” on U.S. soil in the
JOSHUA GOODMAN tigation into the shooting, Rico Trauma Center. That includes the Border Patrol. 2021 fiscal year, seized 1.1
Associated Press which occurred around initial statement did not in- Air and Maine aircraft and million pounds of narcot-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 8 a.m. local time, Quiño- dicate anyone was killed. sea assets to stop the ille- ics, $73.1 million in illicit cur-
U.S. Customs and Border nes told reporters in Puerto Homeland Security Secre- gal movement of people, rency, made more than
Protection agent and a Rico. He said it was too ear- tary Alejandro Mayorkas drugs and other goods. 122,000 arrests and recued
suspected smuggler died ly to know where the vessel said in testimony before The unit detected 218 518 people, according to
during a shootout Thursday originated from, the nation- a Senate committee that “conventional aircraft in- CBP.q
off the Puerto Rico coast, ality of its two passengers an Air and Marine Opera-
authorities said. Other U.S. and whether it was carry- tions agent was killed and
officers were injured. ing narcotics or servicing several other agents were
CBP’s Air and Marine Op- another suspected drug “gravely wounded.”
erations unit was on rou- vessel in the Caribbean. “These are brave members
tine patrol when the shots Typically, drug cartels re- of our Air and Marine Pper-
were fired about 12 miles cruit poor fishermen from ations within U.S. Customs
(19 kilometers) off the coast Colombia and Venezuela and Border Protection,”
from Cabo Rojo, a major to transport large amounts Mayorkas said. “So the dif-
drug smuggling corridor of cocaine northward to ficulty of this job cannot be
for cocaine coming out the Dominican Republic compared to the difficulty
of South America known where it is broken down that our frontline person-
as the Mona Passage. It into smaller bales and nel face every day. Their
lies between Puerto Rico’s transferred at sea to wait- bravery and selfless service
western coastline and the ing vessels manned by bet- should be recognized.”
Dominican Republic. ter-paid, sometimes well- Air and Marine Operations
One of two suspected armed Puerto Rican drug employs about 1,650 peo- Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during
a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Worldwide
smugglers died, said CBP runners. CBP said in a state- ple and is one of the smaller Threats to the Homeland”, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday,
spokesman Jeffrey Quiño- ment that three agents units of CBP, the largest law Nov. 15, 2022.
nes. were injured and were be- enforcement agency in Associated Press