WASHINGTON (CN) — Over the past three months, the Justice Department charged 371 people and took 117 civil actions for fraud offenses related to more than $836 million in Covid-19 relief funds.
Officials announced Wednesday the results of a three-month, nationwide effort from May to July that included 718 enforcement actions.
“This latest action … should send a clear message: the Covid-19 public health emergency may have ended, but the Justice Department’s work to identify and prosecute those who stole pandemic relief funds is far from over,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release.
Of the 371 people criminally charged, 119 pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, resulting in $57 million in court-ordered restitution. Prosecutors secured more than $231.4 million in asset forfeiture.
Sixty-three criminal defendants are allegedly connected to “violent crime, including violent gang members also accused of using pandemic funds to pay for a murder for hire,” according to Michal Galdo, Justice’s acting director of Covid-19 fraud enforcement.
Galdo said 25 defendants had connections to “transnational crime networks.”
“[T]his announcement is not a victory lap,” he said in a press release. “Our mission is not complete. We know from our investigative partners that identifying those who committed pandemic relief fraud and recovering stolen funds is difficult work.”
The Justice Department also won more than $10.4 million in judgments from the 117 civil cases it pursued.
Many of the cases were related to pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Other actions involved health care billing and fraud against the Emergency Rental Assistance program and the Internal Revenue Service Employee Retention Credit program.
Overall Garland said the Justice Department has seized more than $1.4 billion in Covid-19 relief funds, charging more than 3,000 people in federal courts, since creating a task force in May 2021.
As part of Wednesday's announcement the Justice Department said it is launching two new Covid-19 fraud strike forces: one in Colorado and one in New Jersey. Existing strike forces are operating in California, Florida and Maryland.
“The law enforcement actions announced today reflect the Justice Department’s focus — working with our law enforcement partners nationwide — on bringing to justice those who stole from American businesses and families at a time of national emergency,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The two new Strike Forces launched today will increase our reach as we continue to pursue fraudsters and recover taxpayer funds, no matter how long it takes.”
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