Editorial Photo Credit: Elena R

According to The Associated Press, “nearly $100 billion has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs since the start of the pandemic. The Secret Service announced that the Department of Labor and Small Business Administration have been collecting data from programs set up to help small businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and found that 3% of the $3.4 trillion dispersed was fraudulent – with most coming from unemployment fraud, with about $87 billion being paid to people “improperly.”

The Secret Service have arrested 100 people thus far and has helped return more than $2.3 billion of the funds in the process. More than 900 active criminal investigations are into pandemic fraud, with cases in every state.

The CARES Act, a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, was enacted in March 2020 and brought unemployment benefits to millions. Unfortunately, scammers also took advantage of the bill, according to former FBI analyst Crane Hassold.

Read more here: The Associated Press