Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Commissioner Bob Hamilton may have been less than forthcoming in testimony regarding the number of employees at the tax agency who were involved in fraudulent claims for COVID benefits. Although Hamilton previously told a Commons committee that there were “not very many” employees involved in the fraud, CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch confirmed on…

A federal jury found a former Olympic speedskater guilty of fraud Thursday, ruling that the Utah native gave false information to banks to receive a fraudulent $10 million small business loan from government pandemic relief funding. Allison Marie Baver, 42, a retired Olympic short track speedskater who was on a team that won a bronze…

About $38 million in federal pandemic assistance was issued to Social Security numbers belonging to more than 3,000 dead people in 2020 and 2021, a U.S. Inspector General team empaneled to probe fraud reported on May 11. The disclosure was posted by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) in a follow-up to a February report…

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is glad the Government Accountability Office publishes its High Risk List of agencies and programs that need reform. But, he said it’s a useless exercise if the work stops there. “What’s really needed is Congressional will,” said Paul, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. On…

Millions of dollars in pandemic-era relief spending that went to K-12 public education and universities was misspent, according to federal and state audits. As COVID-19 spread around the world in 2020, federal, state, and local officials encouraged or ordered policies that led to the closures of businesses and schools around the United States. Between 2020…

The Biden administration is seeking $1.6 billion in funding to help prosecutors track down and recover government funds that were fraudulently distributed under COVID-19 pandemic relief programs. On a call with reporters on Thursday, White House American Rescue Plan coordinator Gene Sperling laid out a new plan by the Biden administration to prosecute pandemic fraud….

Federal watchdog officials are asking Congress to extend the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19 pandemic-era unemployment fraud cases. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Department of Labor Inspector  General (DOL) Larry Turner testified (pdf) that he expects his department to be busy investigating pandemic-related fraud through at least September 2026…

The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates again to curb inflation; it’s the smallest hike since March. Along with the rate hike, Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives strong rhetoric in his speech, but are the markets convinced? We talk to an analyst. More than 1,000 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted of COVID relief…

A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud after selling $2.7 million worth of pesticides claiming to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and as being effective against COVID-19. Paul Andrecola, 63, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, has been charged with “one count of knowingly distributing or selling an unregistered…

More than 900 fraud cases linked to pandemic-related relief funds are being investigated, said a U.S. Secret Service statement issued Tuesday. In the statement, the Secret Service added there was potentially fraudulent activity nearing $100 billion related to the relief funds last year. The $100 billion figure is based on the aggregate of two previous…