Half of the unemployment money distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic has reportedly been stolen with many believing the theft was initiated by criminals and funneled out of the country, reports Fox News.
On Thursday, reports said more than $400 billion in U.S. aid was lost to fraudulent claims.
Experts suggest at least 70 percent of the funds were sent to criminal networks in other countries including China, Nigeria, and Russia.
The Secret Service said an alleged Nigerian crime ring committed fraud on unemployment insurance programs by using Social Security numbers belonging to the victims of identity theft.
The Secret Service released a statement that said, “it is assumed the fraud ring behind this possesses a substantial PII database to submit the volume of applications observed thus far.” They warned, “the primary state targeted so far is Washington, although there is also evidence of attacks in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Florida.”
The increase in fraud comes as many states are having trouble processing a huge amount of jobless claims resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Clown Network CNN:
Congress created a new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program that provides benefits to those who don’t typically qualify, including freelancers, the self-employed, and independent contractors. This program was a particular target of criminals because the US Department of Labor and states allowed claimants to self-certify their employment and earnings. Eligibility for traditional state benefits has to be verified through an employer.
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The honor system! Because we have so much money to throw away. Democrats like the honor system and went to it in 2013 with Obamacare. They dropped all anti-fraud measures. We don’t have to tell you that it was a bust.
The Secret Service announced it is extremely likely every state is vulnerable to this scheme and will be targeted if they have not been already.
Another big Biden-Pelosi-Schumer success story. But, don’t worry, Biden’s spokesperson Gene Sperling says, “President Biden has been clear that this type of activity from criminal syndicates is despicable and unacceptable.”
WOW, such tough words.
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