The US Secret Service has reported that nearly $100 billion was stolen for assistance programs for businesses and the unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic, local media reported today.
Most of that number comes from unemployment fraud, said Roy Dotson, an official with that entity reported by NBC News.
The Department of Labor has acknowledged that about $87 billion for those left without a job could have been inappropriately paid.
The White House played down the Secret Service statement, and presidential press secretary Jen Psaki said the estimate was based on old reports.
According to the government agency, more than 2.3 billion dollars have been recovered so far, one hundred responsible people have been arrested, some of whom are members of organized groups, and there are more than 900 active criminal investigations into epidemic fraud with the cases in its entirety. the states.
The Department of Justice reported last week that more than 150 people have been charged with such crimes and seized more than $75 million in proceeds fraudulently obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program.
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, the US government has spent about $3.5 trillion to reduce the effects of the health crisis on businesses and workers.
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