Covid Fraud is a Real Problem
In the US alone fraudsters have stolen around 600m under the Covid pretext.

Since Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged hundreds of people with nearly $ 570 million in criminal fraud related to COVID and seized over half a million dollars in aid that went to the wrong people under false pretenses. A total of 474 people have now been charged with fraud. The ministry's International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Program (ICHIP) has hunted down several online COVID scams and resulted in the confiscation of "significant" amounts of counterfeit drugs and medical supplies, including illicit medicines, treatments and personal protective equipment. The range of illegal products ranged from industrial bleach and ozone gas to vitamin supplements and colloidal silver ointments. Attempts at fraud were also found in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and unemployment insurance. The PPP has seen a high level of fraudulent claims, with recipients falsely reporting their employees and misappropriating funds to purchase luxury items ranging from homes and cars to jewelry, which is the most common. The DoJ found that in a Texas case investigated by the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, a defendant applied for a total of 15 PPP loans from 8 lenders with 11 different company names. The defendant eventually received over $ 17 million in PPP loans, all of which were used to purchase luxury items. In another case, a defendant sought 140 PPP and EIDL loans totaling $ 21 million using "bogus companies" and "stolen and fictitious identities". In a smaller but no less egregious case, an Arizona businessman bought a Porsche and a new house with his $ 1 million COVID aid and is now charged with fraud, CNN reported. For EIDL loans, the DoJ said $ 580 million in fraudulent claims had been seized as of Friday, with operations still ongoing, while more than $ 860 billion in fraudulent unemployment insurance had been seized. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Covid pandemic-related fraud has cost Americans $ 382 million. "To anyone considering using the global pandemic as an opportunity to defraud and steal from hard-working Americans, my advice is simple - don't do it," said Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department's Criminal Police Department . "No matter where you are or who you are, we will find you and pursue you with the fullest harshness of the law." "We will not allow American citizens, or the critical aid programs created to support them, to be exploited by those who seek to exploit this national emergency," said Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Department of Justice's civil division . "We pride ourselves on working with our law enforcement partners to hold wrongdoers accountable and protect taxpayers' funds."




