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IG reports 'historic' COVID unemployment funds lost, Congress investigates (400 billion)
Center Square ^ | 11-13-22 | Casey Harper

Posted on 11/14/2022 6:53:05 AM PST by dynachrome

As much as $400 billion in COVID-19 unemployment relief dollars were likely lost to waste and fraudsters. Lawmakers want answers.

Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor demanding documents and information related to the unemployment fraud.

“Since the Summer of 2020, repeated alerts from federal law enforcement agencies warned of targeted efforts involving organized cybercrime, foreign actors, and international crime rings using stolen identities of American citizens to obtain fraudulent unemployment benefits,” the letter said. “Fraud estimates range from $80 billion to as much as $400 billion, which is nearly half of all the COVID-19 unemployment aid.”

The Department of Labor’s Inspector General released a report in October showing that fraud varied by state but was significant nationwide.

“We found ETA and states did not ensure pandemic-related UI funds were paid only to eligible individuals promptly. Of the 4 states we tested, from March 28, 2020, through September 30, 2020, we estimated $30.4 billion of the $71.7 billion in PUA and FPUC benefits were paid improperly (42.4 percent),” the report said. “We estimated $9.9 billion of that was paid to likely fraudsters (13.8 percent). Notably, in the 4 states, 1 in 5 dollars initially paid in PUA benefits went to likely fraudsters.”

(Excerpt) Read more at thecentersquare.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthonyfauci; covid; covidstooges; creepstate; deepstate; doj; fbi; fib; fraud; merrickgarland; obamacare; policestate; singlepartystate; theft; unemployment; vaccinemandates
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To: Jonty30

We already have, they just print more and pretend until they collapse it and introduce digital currency and national guaranteed income that will make everyone , except elites, equally poor. And we will love it. Yes indeed.


21 posted on 11/14/2022 7:10:10 AM PST by dforest
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To: Jonty30

“when we run out of other people’s money.”

You’ve got to be kidding! They just keep cranking the printing presses up higher and higher. We are up to what? $31 trillion of debt now?

Modern Monetary Theory instructs us that there’s a bottomless pit of money.


22 posted on 11/14/2022 7:10:17 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (The “I” in Democrat stands for “Integrity.”)
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To: aklurker

In NY rats squandered covid money from feds that had to be payed back, when it came due they raised all the taxes on small businesses to pay for their criminal behavior. Typical scumbags who stole another election


23 posted on 11/14/2022 7:12:50 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: dynachrome

Lots of people made very rich off this cheat


24 posted on 11/14/2022 7:13:53 AM PST by devane617 (Discipline Is Reliable, Motivation Is Fleeting..)
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To: dynachrome

It was the easiest way to fund their vote fraud campaign....


25 posted on 11/14/2022 7:15:12 AM PST by G Larry ( When Leftists say "Population Control" it means Killing Billions, not "limiting growth".)
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To: dynachrome

US Taxpayers are no longer relevant.

Money for politicians to spend is merely made up or borrowed.

When taxpayers no longer matter, then where will politicians devote the majority of their time and interest?


26 posted on 11/14/2022 7:17:25 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer” )
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To: Red Badger

How much was spent to print fraudulent ballots?????


27 posted on 11/14/2022 7:19:03 AM PST by ridesthemiles
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To: dynachrome
Nah, the plague money mostly got used bailing some blue states and cities out.
Illinois started writing in black ink about this time.
28 posted on 11/14/2022 7:30:58 AM PST by skimbell
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To: dynachrome; All
Very corrupt federal Democratic and RINO career lawmakers are all about ripping off the taxpayer imo, any excuse, eg. junk sciences global warming and COVID19, to steal taxpayer's wallets to fund the reelection campaigns and pay for the pleasure vacations of desperate Democrats.
"Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States." —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.

You could also say that Constitution-impaired taxpayers, taxpayers who are clueless about the fed's constitutionally limited powers, have shot themselves in the foot with their 17th Amendment powers.

29 posted on 11/14/2022 7:35:20 AM PST by Amendment10
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Tarball is right.


30 posted on 11/14/2022 7:35:24 AM PST by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: central_va

During WW 2, it was alleged that the government went to the mafia in NYC to ensure there was no labor or sabotage at the docks in NY as happened during WW 1. The deal was that one of the gangsters would remain in the US from deportation. The result, no problems of any importance happened.

Why not go to the mafia loan collectors, Bruno and Rocco, and give them 10% of whatever fraudulently obtained money was taken. Give them the ability to do whatever it takes to get it. It only takes a will to do things to make it happen. Just to help out, put out a PR on what is going to happen for those who wish to make it right.


31 posted on 11/14/2022 7:58:19 AM PST by Mouton (The enemy of the people is the media )
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

No, it is not fraud if the funds went to the people originally intended. They did — see “elections”.


32 posted on 11/14/2022 8:05:40 AM PST by bobbo666 (Baizuo)
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To: dynachrome
I had to laugh on reading the headline.

Another phantom "investigation" that will go nowhere fast.

33 posted on 11/14/2022 8:11:48 AM PST by chief lee runamok (Anti Socialist Derelict At Large)
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To: ActresponsiblyinVA
BINGO!!
34 posted on 11/14/2022 8:23:01 AM PST by Roccus (First we beat the Nazis........then we defeated the Soviets....... Now, we are them.)
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To: Jonty30
This will stop when we run out of other people’s money.
Didn't we run out $Trillions ago?
35 posted on 11/14/2022 8:26:57 AM PST by citizen (The pResident On Hot Mic With Florida Official: ‘No One F**ks With A Biden’)
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To: dynachrome
Lawmakers want answers.

Sheet...Lawmakers skimmed off the top biggly~~~!!!

36 posted on 11/14/2022 8:33:27 AM PST by Osage Orange
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To: dynachrome

Sure, there was fraud. But PUA was for the poor schlub self-employed/independent contractors who weren’t eligible for unemployment or the small biz or state or local government funds to keep paying full salaries, when the poor schlubs were just as forcibly shut down as anyone else.

This smacks to me as an excuse to sic those 87k new IRS agents after anyone working independently.


37 posted on 11/14/2022 8:37:40 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: dynachrome

“Ten crates (48x48x48) of $100 bills is the answer to “what does a billion dollars look like?”

Fortunately, I have a lot of space in my basement….


38 posted on 11/14/2022 8:49:12 AM PST by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“The WHOLE payment thing was a fraud. We should have ridden it out without shutting down the economy.”

Exactly right.

People were often paid more to stay home than to work.

Seemed to me the Democrats set it up this way to intentionally drive unemployment numbers through the roof and then use this statistic as a weapon on the campaign trail.

Biden is currently bragging about historically low unemployment, comparing it to when he took office. But it’s still not as low as it was under President Trump just before COVID. And it dropped more during the 6 months before Biden took office than it did in the 2 years since.


39 posted on 11/14/2022 12:04:39 PM PST by unlearner ( Si vis pacem, para bellum. Let him who desires peace prepare for war.)
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To: unlearner

“Seemed to me the Democrats set it up this way to intentionally drive unemployment numbers through the roof and then use this statistic as a weapon on the campaign trail.”

Yes, exactly right. But perhaps the far bigger thing was to scare people to absolute death about leaving their houses, encountering other people or touching anything, such that it absolutely required unsolicited mail-in ballots. They claimed that, if you went to your polling place, you would catch COVID and die. That enabled the Big Steal which was successful in November 2020 and again last week.


40 posted on 11/14/2022 12:38:09 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (The “I” in Democrat stands for “Integrity.”)
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