Remember all that money the Federal government gave out to help stimulate the economy during the pandemic?
A new report claims about half of it ended up in places in Russia, Nigeria, and China.
A stunning $400 billion in unemployment claims were likely stolen via fraud over the past year — and a “bulk” of that money has come from crime syndicates in places like China, Russia, and Nigeria.
“Criminals may have stolen as much as half of the unemployment benefits the U.S. has been pumping out over the past year,” Axios reported Friday. “Unemployment fraud during the pandemic could easily reach $400 billion, according to some estimates, and the bulk of the money likely ended in the hands of foreign crime syndicates — making this not just theft, but a matter of national security.”
When state and national leaders encouraged or mandated lockdown measures, disallowing millions of Americans from working, unemployment claims skyrocketed. States were unequipped to handle the influx in a timely manner, choosing to get out the money as quickly as possible with the expectation that some fraud would slip through.
But the fraud wasn’t just from Americans — an estimated 70% of the fraud likely came from foreign criminal syndicates, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Haywood Talcove told Axios:
“[Talcove] estimates that at least 70% of the money stolen by impostors ultimately left the country, much of it ending up in the hands of criminal syndicates in China, Nigeria, Russia and elsewhere.”
“These groups are definitely backed by the state,” the CEO said.
“Much of the rest of the money was stolen by street gangs domestically, who have made up a greater share of the fraudsters in recent months,” Axios noted.
The Biden administration responded to the report, seemingly blaming the state level “widespread fraud” on the Trump administration.
“Widespread fraud at the state level in pandemic unemployment insurance during the previous Administration is one of the most serious challenges we inherited,” said White House economist Gene Sperling.
“President Biden has been clear that this type of activity from criminal syndicates is despicable and unacceptable,” Sperling added. “It is why we passed $2 billion for UI modernizations in the American Rescue Plan, instituted a Department of Justice Anti-Fraud Task Force and an all-of-government Identity Theft and Public Benefits Initiative.”
In Florida, where lockdown measures were limited and brief, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis informed unemployed residents last month that May would be their last month to collect unemployment benefits without proving they are looking for work.