Congress must prevent a mass-amnesty for COVID fraud

You were the victim of a crime over the past five years. We all were. And today, the person who committed that crime is about to get away with it.

That’s because this March, the five-year statute of limitations on COVID-era fraud prosecution is set to expire. Criminals are about to walk away with hundreds of billions of dollars, and Congress has just weeks to make a simple fix to demand accountability.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) has introduced legislation to extend the statute of limitations on these crimes from five years to 10. This same extension was already passed in 2022 for fraud in two other COVID programs, and allowing this reform to cover unemployment fraud already has the support of prosecutors and senior Republicans.

But if Congress fails to act, criminals will walk away with as much as $135 billion in government checks the recipients aren’t eligible for. That’s more than the entire budgets of 48 states, and twice the annual spending of the State Department. It’s more money than Bank of America, Target or AT&T make in a year.

State unemployment programs have long been a target of criminals, identity thieves and organized crime, due to antiquated systems, poor monitoring and, in many states, a lack of the most basic cross-checks and verification.

In the teeth of the pandemic, my organization published a report exposing some of the worst unemployment fraud schemes. This includes using identity theft (or even just using the governor’s name) to apply for unemployment, or applying in multiple states at the same time, or applying while incarcerated or employed elsewhere. Many states took action to fix the flaws in their programs, but a staggering amount of fraud has gone unpunished. More still needs to be done.

And for COVID-specific unemployment fraud, the five-year statute of limitations is just weeks away.

For many, the memories of frustration, uncertainty and job losses during COVID are all too vivid. In April 2020, 23 million Americans suddenly found themselves out of work, a fourfold increase from that February. Criminals knew that this swarm of unemployment applications would make fraud more difficult to detect, and the system would prioritize economic relief in the hands of impacted Americans over fraud detection and prosecution.

And they were right. In the first three months of COVID, the volume of unemployment claims rose a stunning 15 times higher compared to the same time period in 2019. State agencies responsible for unemployment programs “did not have the capacity or sufficient internal control environment to process claims timely without bypassing safeguards in place to prevent fraud,” according to dozens of after-the-fact audits and a report from the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

While some people panicked, criminals cashed in.

Of the total $135 billion, only $6.8 billion in improper unemployment payments have been recovered — just 5 percent. For every dollar of fraud committed during COVID, about a nickel has been recovered through enforcement.

Across all COVID-era programs, an Associated Press report found that as much as $400 billion may have been lost to waste and fraud; some of the stories now coming to light are truly jaw-dropping.

Criminals defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program for millions at a time, spent on luxury cars, watches and even a rare Pokémon card. Some even posted pictures online with stacks of ill-gotten cash. Soon, the statutes of limitation for these crimes will expire, and along with it, the opportunity to bring these culprits to justice.

Yes, statutes of limitation exist for a reason. Memories fade, prosecutors’ priorities change, and for some crimes, a sense of closure is helpful to move on.

But over the last four years, the Department of Justice has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to prosecuting this kind of fraud, focusing its attention instead on targeting the left’s political enemies, including President Trump, parents attending school board meetings, and Catholics doing nothing more than practicing their faith.

But the American people have now elected Trump based on his promise for a return to affordability, common sense and law and order — a new golden age for America.

Already, the president has created new cost-cutting initiatives, including the Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by Elon Musk, which is being replicated in Congress and in the states. And he has also nominated new, principled leaders to oversee agencies including the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who have the knowledge, skill and courage to restore law and order.

The only thing standing in the way of bringing unemployment fraudsters to justice is the five-year statute of limitations. Fortunately, there is an easy fix.

Stewart Whitson is a U.S. Army veteran, former FBI supervisory special agent, and attorney working as the senior director of Federal Affairs for the Foundation for Government Accountability.

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