New Federal Prosecutor to Target COVID-19 Fraud

The federal government has spent billions of dollars to help businesses and individuals survive the financial devastation of COVID-19. And as always happens whenever the government runs a big relief program, lots of that money wound up in the pockets of people who didn’t deserve it. With that in mind, the Department of Justice will soon appoint a chief prosecutor to find the fraudsters and bring them to justice. “We are going to go after the criminals who stole billions of relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans,” stated President Biden in his March 1 State of the Union address. This is far from a new policy. Almost from the moment Congress passed the COVID-19 relief programs, federal enforcement agents have been sounding the warning on relief fraud scams. Last June, the investigations and prosecutions began, including special fraud takedowns. Programs the new chief prosecutor is likely to target include those in which many labs and lab owners participated, including: The Accelerated and Advance Payment Program, which provides reimbursement funds in advance of service to help labs and other Medicare providers maintain cash flow during national emergencies; The $50 billion Provider Relief Fund for labs and other […]