Michael E. Horowitz, Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), issued the following statement after 14 people were charged with allegedly defrauding the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and financial institutions of more than $53 million, which they obtained by submitting loan applications with inflated payroll expenses and falsified bank statements and tax forms:
“The PRAC’s data scientists and investigators use sophisticated data analytics to comb through millions of pandemic relief applications to identify potential fraud. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the PRAC Fraud Task Force, our law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we can leverage these analytic tools to help recover stolen pandemic relief funds.”
Read the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas' press release.
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The PRAC was established by the CARES Act to promote transparency and support independent oversight of the funds provided by the CARES Act and other related emergency spending bills. In addition to its coordination and oversight responsibilities, the PRAC is tasked with supporting efforts to “prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement [and] mitigate major risks that cut across program and agency boundaries.”
If you have additional questions, please contact Lisa Reijula at lisa.reijula@cigie.gov