Federal employees who fraudulently applied for and received COVID-19 pandemic unemployment insurance benefits while also drawing government paychecks will be referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution, according to a waste, fraud, and abuse watchdog.
Asked by Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) “how is it even possible that there is nothing in place to cross-check these employees, or do we just pay out these benefits to whomever applies,” Michael Horowitz told the Feb. 1 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability that his office is aggressively pursuing investigations and will recommend prosecutions to DOJ.
Burlison was referring to a Jan. 30 statement by Sen. Joni Ernst calling for an investigation of the “tens of thousands” of federal workers who she claimed fraudulently sought and received pandemic relief benefits, including unemployment checks and loans intended to help small businesses survive during the nationwide economic slowdown of 2020 due to the Coronavirus….