Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Administration Actions to Counter COVID-19 Fraud

When President Biden came into office, he inherited unprecedented fraud from pandemic relief programs. The President made clear the watchdogs are back. The Department of Justice has taken action against thousands of criminals who stole billions of taxpayer dollars meant for hard-working Americans and small businesses coping with the pandemic. In his State of the Union address this year, President Biden promised to double down on the work of the COVID-19 fraud strike forces he called for and also called for the creation of additional anti-fraud strike forces. Today, the Department of Justice announced enforcement actions and charges for crimes related to an additional $836 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud, with federal charges against more than 300 additional defendants. The Justice Department has now recovered over $1.4 billion, and more than 3,000 defendants have been charged. The Justice Department’s announcement of two new COVID-19 fraud strike forces will enable it to further ramp up its efforts. Congress should act on the President’s full proposal to triple such strike forces, invest more in fraud and identity-theft prevention efforts, and double the statute of limitations on these crimes. As the President has said about those who defrauded the American people during the pandemic: ‘You can’t hide.’

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