Letter to the editor: Whistleblowers are key to recouping covid fraud losses

The letter “Pandemic fraud is an eye-opener” referenced the Associated Press article “Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programs” spotlighting a tidal wave of fraud. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the fraud iceberg.

Two years ago, lawmakers passed a series of spending bills to provide pandemic relief and shore up a battered economy. Congress acted quickly and decisively, pumping more than $5 trillion into the economy. Sadly, but inevitably, oversight and fraud controls were sacrificed for speed. According to recent estimates, hundreds of billions of dollars will be lost to fraud.

All is not lost. Some of this money can be recovered, and citizen whistleblowers are in the best position to assist the government. Citizen whistleblowers filing suit under the federal False Claims Act have long been the government’s most effective tool to police waste, fraud and abuse in government programs. If successful, a whistleblower bringing this kind of qui tam lawsuit can receive a reward of up to 30% of the amount recovered. Over the previous 35 years, whistleblowers have recovered more than $60 billion on behalf of taxpayers.

Fraud may involve fraudulent applications for loans and grants, kickbacks, overcharging and other schemes that result in losses to the federal programs. Bottom line: You can’t tell a lie to obtain money that you are not otherwise entitled to receive.

Whistleblowers also should be on high alert for fraudsters targeting spending from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Andrew Stone

Downtown

The writer is an attorney.