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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 1 June 2022
Inspectors ask for authority to go after more COVID fraud

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT though he does know of
Associated Press cases that they would like
Inspectors general need to prosecute administra-
more authority to go after tively involving hundreds of
fraud in the COVID-19 re- thousands of dollars. Most
lief programs, the indepen- U.S. attorneys would not
dent committee oversee- pursue cases for under $1
ing federal pandemic relief million because they are
spending said Tuesday. overwhelmed with other
The agencies watchdogs' fraud cases, he added.
authority to administrative- Republican Sen. Chuck
ly prosecute fraudsters is Grassley of Iowa is sponsor-
limited to fraud of $150,000 ing a bill that would make
or less from COVID-19 relief the change. It has biparti-
programs and the Depart- san support, including from
ment of Justice is too busy co-sponsor Democratic
for cases under $1 million— Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois,
a gap that must be closed, who chairs the Senate Ju-
the Pandemic Response diciary Committee.
Accountability Committee The Pandemic Response
said. Accountability Committee Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies during a Senate Judiciary
Michael Horowitz, head of was created by Congress hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington.
the committee and the in- in March 2020. It brings to- Associated Press
spector general of the De- gether the inspectors gen- That prompted the com- asked Congress to keep in to future emergencies with
partment of Justice, said eral offices to oversee pan- mittee to set up a data an- place to use when the fed- relief spending.q
the $150,000 threshold is far demic relief emergency alytics center, which it has eral government responds
too low given the scope of spending and investigate
the fraud in programs set fraud and improper pay-
up to help businesses and ments spread out among
people who lost their jobs more than 400 programs
due to the pandemic. He's implemented by 40 federal
asking Congress to mod- agencies.
ify provisions in the law on Its report to Congress also
fraud committed against stressed the need to better
the federal government, to use the data the federal
raise the maximum amount government already has,
of a fraud claim that may and improve data collec-
be handled administrative- tion, particularly when the
ly to $1 million. prime recipient of a grant
The request was highlight- shares it with sub-recipients
ed in the committee's semi- to follow the funding from
annual report to Congress the federal to the local
released Tuesday. level.
"It can't be the case that Billions in loans were paid
people come away from to potentially ineligible re-
this thinking there's a cer- cipients at the beginning
tain level of fraud that's just of the pandemic because
OK, or a certain level of im- the Small Business Admin-
proper payments that's just istration didn't check the
OK," Horowitz said in an in- Treasury Department's "do
terview with The Associated not pay" list, the report
Press before the report was said, and billions went to
released. "We don't believe applicants with foreign IP
that as IGs, and we want to addresses. Horowitz said
get to the bottom of that. "simple data matching" at
So it's a very important tool the agency level should've
and every dollar matters." flagged hundreds of ap-
Out of more than $5 trillion plications using the same
in pandemic relief spend- phone number from a gas
ing, more than 1 million station in Texas before the
awards under $1 million committee found it.
have been given out, ac- "That shouldn't be the case,
cording to the committee. right? An agency should
Inspectors general nation- be able to figure that out,"
wide are focused on multi- he said. "That's not sophisti-
million dollar cases of al- cated data analytics."
leged fraud that are turned Horowitz said agencies
over to the Department of have substantially im-
Justice for prosecution. proved their ability to verify
Horowitz said he was not eligibility for pandemic re-
aware of any cases being lief payments, but "there is
brought for below $150,000, still a significant way to go."