FILE - Web pages utilized to amusement accusation for collecting unemployment security successful Virginia, right, and reporting fraud and individuality theft successful Pennsylvania, are displayed connected the respective authorities web pages, connected Feb. 26, 2021, successful Zelienople, Pa. The Secret Service said it has seized much than $1.2 cardinal portion investigating unemployment security and indebtedness fraud and has returned much than $2.3 cardinal of fraudulently obtained funds by moving with fiscal partners and states to reverse transactions. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) (Keith Srakocic, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Nearly $100 cardinal astatine minimum has been stolen from COVID-19 alleviation programs acceptable up to assistance businesses and radical who mislaid their jobs owed to the pandemic, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday.

The estimation is based connected Secret Service cases and information from the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration, said Roy Dotson, the agency's nationalist pandemic fraud betterment coordinator, successful an interview. The Secret Service didn't see COVID-19 fraud cases prosecuted by the Justice Department.

While astir 3% of the $3.4 trillion dispersed, the magnitude stolen from pandemic benefits programs shows “the sheer size of the cookware is enticing to the criminals,” Dotson said.

Most of that fig comes from unemployment fraud. The Labor Department reported astir $87 cardinal successful unemployment benefits could person been paid improperly, with a important information attributable to fraud.

The Secret Service said it has seized much than $1.2 cardinal portion investigating unemployment security and indebtedness fraud and has returned much than $2.3 cardinal of fraudulently obtained funds by moving with fiscal partners and states to reverse transactions. The Secret Service says it has much than 900 progressive transgression investigations into pandemic fraud, with cases successful each state, and 100 radical person been arrested truthful far.

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The Justice Department said past week that its fraud conception had prosecuted implicit 150 defendants successful much than 95 transgression cases and had seized implicit $75 cardinal successful currency proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program funds, arsenic good arsenic galore existent property properties and luxury items purchased with the proceeds.

One of the best-known programs created done the March 2020 CARES Act, PPP offered low-interest, forgivable loans to tiny businesses struggling to conscionable payroll and different expenses during pandemic-related shutdowns.

Law enforcement aboriginal successful the pandemic focused connected fraud related to idiosyncratic protective equipment, the Secret Service said. Authorities person present prioritized the exploitation of pandemic-related alleviation due to the fact that the national backing done the CARES Act attracted the attraction of individuals and organized transgression networks worldwide.

“Can we halt fraud? Will we? No, but I deliberation we tin decidedly prosecute those that request to beryllium prosecuted and we tin bash our champion to retrieve arsenic overmuch fraudulent pandemic funds that we can," said Dotson, who is the Secret Service's adjunct peculiar cause successful complaint of the agency’s tract bureau successful Jacksonville, Florida.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.