Washington.- More than 200,000 million dollars would have been fraudulently paid to small and medium-sized companies in the US from economic support programs created during the pandemic, according to an official report released Tuesday.
According to the Small Business Administration, that figure is “at least 17% of the $1.2 trillion in two programs to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) during the covid-19 pandemic.”
This estimate far exceeds that of the end of 2022, which placed fraud at around 100,000 million dollars.
The high amount can be explained, according to the report, by the “weakening or suspension of controls normally necessary”, as the agency tries to quickly distribute aid to companies in need.
“Earning ‘easy money’ in this context has attracted a large number of fraudsters,” the report said.
Some 30,000 million dollars paid fraudulently were recovered, says the report, which also indicates that more than 1,000 people were accused and more than 800 arrested, of which 500 were convicted.
Dozens of investigations are ongoing and “we continue to identify fraud schemes,” the report underlines. Therefore, the estimate of the total amount of the fraud “may change”.
In a text attached to the report, the agency pointed out that it referred to “potential fraud” and not “probable fraud”, which automatically increases the volume of the eventual amount.
American covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and destroyed more than 20 million jobs in two months.
The federal government expanded unemployment benefits, increased the amounts and duration of payments, and expanded the range of beneficiaries.
The United States spent $4.6 trillion to sustain its economy.
FUENTE: afp
