Say the words - "Four hundred BILLION". Not million but BILLION. And think about what a staggering sum this is. This theft highlights the issues with unemployment fund distribution in the U.S. Half the money distributed was stolen and ended up in the hands of international crime syndicates in places such China, Nigeria, Russia and elsewhere. I want to know what politicians are going to do to fix this problem so it does not happen again. There should be bipartisan support for stopping wholesale theft of relief meant to help the unemployed. Half of the pandemic's unemployment money may have been stolen https://www.axios.com/pandemic-unem...len-a937ad9d-0973-4aad-814f-4ca47b72f67f.html Criminals may have stolen as much as half of the unemployment benefits the U.S. has been pumping out over the past year, some experts say. Why it matters: 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. Catch up quick: When the pandemic hit, states weren't prepared for the unprecedented wave of unemployment claims they were about to face. They all knew fraud was inevitable, but decided getting the money out to people who desperately needed it was more important than laboriously making sure all of them were genuine. By the numbers: Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me, a service that tries to prevent this kind of fraud, tells Axios that America has lost more than $400 billion to fraudulent claims. As much as 50% of all unemployment monies might have been stolen, he says. Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, 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," Talcove tells Axios. 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. What they're saying: “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. 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.” How it works: Scammers often steal personal information and use it to impersonate claimants. Other groups trick individuals into voluntarily handing over their personal information. "Mules" — low-level criminals — are given debit cards and asked to withdraw money from ATMs. That money then gets transferred abroad, often via bitcoin. The big picture: Before the pandemic, unemployment claims were relatively rare, and generally lasted for such short amounts of time that international criminal syndicates didn't view them as a lucrative target. After unemployment insurance became the primary vehicle by which the U.S. government tried to keep the economy afloat, however, all that changed. Unemployment became where the big money was — and was also being run by bureaucrats who weren't as quick to crack down on criminals as private companies normally are. Unemployment fraud is now offered on the dark web on a software-as-a-service basis, much like ransomware. States without fraud-detection services are naturally targeted the most. The bottom line: Many states are now getting more sophisticated about preventing this kind of fraud. But it's far too late.
GOP's lack of accountability is the feature, not a bug. Recall CARES got rammed thru as dems requested higher oversight.
Oh good. We have heard about massive losses through fraud in California so I thought for a minute that dems might be involved but you have exonerated them so it can't be so.
This shows the holes in STATE'S welfare policies I am sure theft has happened for years Finally it has been exposed
Are you saying there was no precondition, that pelousi who controls the spending just forgot Or are you just throwing this reactive uneducated reply just to counter every point made outside your narrative This money was channeled through the existing federal welfare system that the states distribute Show me where this has no legal protections
This is not how the government works. Congress controls the funding and the executive branch manages the activity. Congressional oversight mainly consists of investigations and change in policy but change in policy is dependent on presidential approval barring a veto override. Second, how is an insurance program people pay into welfare? Lastly, it’s rare I get to use the word exorbitant but $400 billion is an exorbitant amount of fraud. I doubt it’s that high.