JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — From small towns to big cities, every government across the U.S. was offered a slice of $350 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds to help shore up their finances, cover pandemic-related costs and invest in community projects. Officials in 1,468 local governments effectively said “no,” […]
Pandemic
An estimated $163 billion from pandemic unemployment benefits were misspent or stolen
Identity theft and other sophisticated criminal schemes contributed to potentially $163 billion in waste, while inflicting harm on unwitting victims. Sareena Brown-Thomas, a victim of identity theft that caused her to be unable to collect unemployment benefits. The number of fraud cases in unemployment insurance benefits has increased significantly. (Carolyn […]
ANALYSIS: Lawyer and Legal Employment Hit Pandemic Highs in Q1
Lawyers and legal workers in the first quarter reached their highest employment levels since the pandemic began, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inching closer to a full recovery. And while there were some negative points in the quarterly employment data, legal employment in the first quarter continued the […]
Biden is ending Title 42, a controversial pandemic border policy
The Biden administration announced Friday that it’s lifting controversial pandemic-related border restrictions under which the US has expelled thousands of migrants without giving them access to their legal right to apply for asylum. The so-called Title 42 policy, first enacted by the Trump administration in March 2020 at the outset […]
Fact Sheet: President Biden to Announce New Steps to Combat Criminal Fraud and Identity Theft in Pandemic Relief Programs
As part of an ongoing Administration-wide effort to prevent, deter, and punish identity theft and other forms of pandemic fraud by serious criminal syndicates, the President will announce in the State of the Union tonight: The DOJ Will Appoint a Chief Prosecutor to Focus on the Most Egregious Forms of […]
Castro Valley Resident Charged In Pandemic Relief Fraud Scheme | USAO-NDCA
SAN FRANCISCO – A criminal complaint unsealed today in federal court charges Idowu Hashim Shittu for fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain pandemic-related unemployment benefits from numerous state agencies, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Special Agent […]
State and local governments see rebound after billions of dollars in losses during pandemic
State and local governments lost at least $117 billion of expected revenue early in the pandemic, according to an Associated Press analysis, but many are now awash in record amounts of money, boosted partly by federal aid. In response to the dramatic turnaround, governors, lawmakers and local officials have proposed […]
Michigan Man Arrested for Unemployment Fraud and Identity Theft Related to COVID-19 Pandemic | USAO-MA
BOSTON – A Michigan man was arrested yesterday in Michigan in connection with his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance. Devin Smith, 30, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Smith was released on conditions following an […]