U.S. watchdog identifies $5.4 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 loans

The U.S. government likely awarded about $5.4 billion in COVID-19 aid to people with questionable Social Security numbers, a federal watchdog said in a report released on Monday. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The watchdog report mentioned that in 2021 the U.S. Small Business Administration made improvements to its assistance program controls. The U.S. government likely awarded about $5.4 billion in COVID-19 aid to people with questionable Social Security numbers, a federal watchdog said in a report released on Monday. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force.