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2023-09-05 Government Corruption
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House GOP investigates billions of COVID-19 relief stolen by Russia, China, and Nigeria- an estimated $280 billion was stolen from the intended recipients, at least half of which went to criminal actors
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[WashingtonExaminer] Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday inquiring what the Department of Justice is doing to investigate the billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds stolen by foreign nationals.
"The Department stated that it had taken criminal and civil enforcement actions in matters alleging over $8 billion in pandemic relief fraud, but it is unclear if this is limited to domestic fraud," wrote Wenstrup, chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. "It is highly concerning that possibly billions of taxpayer dollars intended to help Americans suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were stolen by organized criminal rings in foreign countries."
A February 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government spent a total of $4.6 trillion on aid programs in response to the economic fallout from the pandemic. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, however, calculated that $5.2 trillion was distributed by both the Trump and Biden administrations for COVID-19 relief.
Of these funds, an estimated $280 billion was stolen from the intended recipients, at least half of which went to criminal actors in Russia, China, and Nigeria, according to Wenstrup.
Wenstrup asked Garland for all documents and communications within the DOJ relating to efforts to identify fraud in COVID-19 relief programs by international actors, including the total number of open and closed investigations as well as the total dollar amount for each case.
Wenstrup also requested information on tactics used by overseas actors to "perpetuate these crimes and imperil American citizens' personal protected information."
A spokesperson for the DOJ told the Washington Examiner that earlier this week the department announced the successful result of an investigation into COVID-19 fraud, culminating in 718 enforcement actions related to over $836 million in alleged fraud.
“The Justice Department has now seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that criminals had stolen and charged over 3,000 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country,” Garland said on Monday.
The DOJ press release, however, does not distinguish between domestic and foreign sources of fraud.
The subcommittee is also requesting a DOJ briefing by Sept. 12. 
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Posted by NoMoreBS 2023-09-05 00:00||
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