#COVID-19 relief fraud
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Stevenson, AL woman charged in COVID scheme gets 14 months and must repay $120,025
Stevenson, Alabama woman charged in COVID scheme gets 14 months and must repay $120,025...
A Stevenson, Alabama woman was sentenced to 14-months in prison on Wednesday after conviction from her involvement in a scheme to defraud COVID-19 unemployment programs in multiple states.
29-year-old Randa Faye Allison appeared before Judge Curtis L. Collier in Chattanooga on Wednesday for sentencing.
As part of the filed plea agreement with the court, the Department of Justice says Allison pled…
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#Alabama#arrest#COVID-19 relief fraud#Fraud#Jackson County News#jail#Marion County News#prison#Randa Faye Allison#Stevenson#Stevenson News#unemployment
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The Great COVID-19 Aid Grift: Millions Stolen, Luxury Island Bought, and Justice Sought
Renowned Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh sentenced to federal prison for stealing $8 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Uncovering the shocking scale of pandemic fraud and the audacious spending of thieves. The latest news on the government's pursuit of justice.
#headline horizon#news#latest news#COVID-19 relief fraud#pandemic fraud cases#government's pursuit of justice
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Is anybody up for some Schadenfreude?
Anecdotally it seems that the percentage of crooks and sex offenders is higher among high-profile homophobes and hate mongers in general.
Joe Harding is a former member of the Florida legislature and an ally of Ron DeSantis. Harding sponsored the state's "don't say gay" bill. He's now going to federal prison for fraud.
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced to prison a former Florida state legislator who catapulted to national attention for being the sponsor of a bill barring classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity that was called by its critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Former Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston), who plead guilty in March to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $150,000 federal Covid-19 relief loan, was sentenced to four months in prison.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, also sentenced Harding to two years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Court records show that Harding is scheduled to surrender to authorities on Jan. 29.
Four months is a relatively light term. But I suppose they need to make room for Donald Trump and his co-conspirators in federal prison next year.
Sadly, Harding's conviction doesn't erase his dirty work in the Florida legislature.
Titled “Parental Rights in Education,” the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill Harding sponsored was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022. It led to national condemnation from Democrats and LGBTQ supporters and a high profile battle between the governor and the Walt Disney Co., whose CEO at the time criticized the legislation.
#florida#lgbtq#florida legislature#don't say gay#joe harding#money laundering#fraud#covid-19 relief loan#homophobes#crooks#republicans#schadenfreude
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Miami Real Estate Influencer Arrested On Federal Fraud Charges
Miami Real Estate Influencer Daniela Rendon Arrested On Federal Fraud Charges For Misusing $381,000 In COVID-19 Relief Funds
Federal authorities have arrested Miami real estate influencer and broker Daniela Rendon. They have accused Rendon of allegedly using COVID-19 relief funds to fund a lavish lifestyle. Rendon’s lavish lifestyle consisted of private jets and luxury yachts. In addition, they…
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#covid relief scams#Covid-19 SBA Loans#Daniela Rendon#Daniela Rendon arrested#Daniela Rendon Covide fraud#Miami real estate#miami real estate brokers#miami real estate influencer#Miami Real Estate Influencer Daniela Rendon#PPP Loan fraud#PPP Loans#SBA Loan Fraud
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Suggested topics to call your reps about today, 1/30/24!
I’ve been doing two subjects per call recently; one is almost always about the events in the middle east, and then one is domestic policy. I’m including a bit of verbiage you can use as basis for what you say (if you agree with me), for a few of these.
BOTH SENATE AND HOUSE:
Foreign Policy: Reinstate funding for UNRWA. While the claims made by Israel that employees of the relief agency were involved in Oct. 7th are troubling, this arm of the UN is currently providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to the 2.3 million displaced peoples of Gaza. It is especially disturbing and concerning that the many children of Gaza, who are already suffering due to this conflict, are now having this support revoked.
Warn Congress to reaaaaally think about whether a strong response to the incident in Jordan, currently attributed to an Iraqi group backed by Iran, if we're truly looking to avoid a wider regional war as claimed. There is already growing unrest in Yemen and the threat of another civil war, fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and now the situation with the Islamic Resistance. Caution them against an overreaction of the kind that the US has a tendency towards.
FOR THE SENATE: Urge your senator to put their support behind Bernie Sanders and his motion to restrict funding to Israel until a humanitarian review of the IDF’s actions in Gaza has been completed.
FOR THE HOUSE: Urge your representative to put their support behind Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s petition for the US government to recognize the IDF’s actions in Gaza as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and put a stop to it.
Domestic Policy
House of Representatives:
Expansion of the child tax credit. The House of Representatives is currently voting on whether or not to expand the child tax credit that was instated during COVID-19. This credit offers a return on taxes for individuals with children, but currently does not apply to families that are too poor to qualify. During COVID, this tax credit was expanded to include those families, and child poverty fell to record lows, but as it was a temporary measure, those children are getting left behind again. Given the effectiveness the expansion of this tax regulation showed in the past, it would be a net positive for the country as a whole to codify it more permanently.
Other things coming up in the next week if you think your rep might be receptive:
H.R. 6976: Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act: Vote no. This act is discriminatory and enforces harsher penalties on immigrants than in legal citizens. While DUIs are a significant issue, enacting stronger guidelines on a small portion of the population that is already at risk from discriminatory police action is not a solution.
H.R. 6679: No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act - Vote no or dismiss if possible. Terrorism is already considered a reason to reject immigrants. This bill is pointless peacocking. You have better things to do with your time.
H.R. 6678: Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act - Vote no. This proposed act is discriminatory and enacts unduly harsh sentences against minorities. The system already has punishments for fraud; this specific act is unnecessary.
H.R. 5585: Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act - Are you sensing a pattern? It's discriminatory! Evading law enforcement on a motor vehicle is already illegal, you do not need to ADD IMMIGRATION PENALTIES.
Senate:
Abortion rights. Domestically, for the senate, push for abortion rights.
Specific things coming up in the next week if you think your Senator might be receptive:
H.R. 6914: Pregnant Students’ Rights Act - Call to ask that the resolution EXPLICITLY include abortion access, or otherwise vote against. This passed the house on strict party lines; other than a handful of abstentions, the vote was all republican for and all dems against. The text of the proposal is explicitly anti-abortion.
H.R. 6918: Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act - same as above, it was very partisan in the house vote, though less explicitly anti-abortion in the text. Nonetheless, it focuses explicitly on protecting funding to "pregnancy centers," which are often anti-choice and dedicated to pushing patients towards keeping a baby they don't want.
DOMESTIC POLICY, BOTH BRANCHES OF CONGRESS: Border policy is currently being hotly debated and negotiated. A very strong policy in favor of the Republican party is the status at the moment. Even some democrats are in favor of it due to small border communities being ill-equipped to handle large numbers of migrants, and states usually removed from the situation getting migrants bussed in from Texas despite telling Texas to knock it off. Despite some Republicans saying that they have gotten everything they could want out of the current deal, the party at large is refusing to pass it as the politics of the debate are more useful to the coming election than actually passing policy. This is also causing delays in passing the federal budget.
I... don't actually want to tell anyone WHAT to think of the border policy since I do not have any real knowledge on the budget impacts and resources dictating the actual problems (nor the racism or xenophobia, that part is obviously bullshit). I can recognize that too some degree, there is a genuine issue of manpower and budget restriction impacting the ability to house and process immigrants.
However, DREAMers are not being considered in the current deal, the delays in the deal are impacting the federal government and threatening a partial shutdown, and people are STILL getting hurt and even dying at the border.
I would focus on protection for DREAMers, chastising the Republicans for deliberately delaying the budget in order to use the border as a reelection premise instead of actually working on the policy they claim to want (emphasize that they are going to lose votes for focusing on reelection at the expense of their people), and protection for children, parents with those children, and nonviolent migrants in general.
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More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.
The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
The inspector general’s report said “at least 17 percent of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors.” The fraud estimate for the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is more than $136 billion, which represents 33 percent of the total money spent on that program, according to the report. The Paycheck Protection fraud estimate is $64 billion, the inspector general said.
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President Biden’s labor head could be forcing US taxpayers to foot the bill for roughly $32 billion in unemployment fraud she caused when serving during the COVID-19 pandemic as California’s top labor official, Republican senators wrote in a Wednesday letter.
Sens. Bill Cassidy and Mike Crapo expressed concerns in a letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su about December Labor Department guidelines that may “allow California to shift the consequences of a still unknown amount of federal funds that was lost” by its Employment Development Department (EDD) during her tenure.
The $32.6 billion in COVID relief to fraudsters amounts to as much as one third of the total erroneous unemployment insurance payments, according to a Government Accountability Office report last September.
That’s more than double the annual budget of the US Department of Labor, the senators noted.
A California State Controller report also found that the state “had inadequate control over its financial reporting for federally funded unemployment insurance benefits,” making it difficult to determine the extent of the fraud.
The guidelines let states determine the extent to which funds lost to fraud are paid back — or waived entirely.
Cassidy (R-La.) and Crapo (R-Idaho) said in May 1 testimony before the House Education and Workforce Committee that Su claimed states could only “waive non-fraudulent overpayments.”
“While serving as Secretary for the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), you waived basic fact-checking and fraud prevention requirements for federal pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) payments,” the senators wrote.
That decision contradicted US Labor Department guidance, they said, and California’s auditor added that it had made “repeated warnings” to EDD — but the department “did not bolster its fraud detection efforts until months into the pandemic, and it suspended a critical safeguard.”
EDD ruled that it has taken all “reasonably necessary” steps to recoup the lost funds, making them all but forgiven if the new Labor Department guidelines are approved.
Cassidy and Crapo have demanded Su answer more than a dozen questions related to California’s process for determining its liability.
The Post has reached out to the Labor Department for comment.
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The owners of a Colorado funeral home accused of mishandling nearly 200 sets of human remains are now facing charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $880,000 in Covid-19 relief funds and using it for personal expenses like trips and jewelry, federal prosecutors said.
8+ TRILLION DOLLARS THE GOP AND TRUMP PISSED AWAY AND THE GOP CLAIMS TO BE THE FISCAL SANE ONE?
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ICYMI last week
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday the launch of two new COVID-19 fraud strike forces, as 371 people were charged over offenses in connection to the alleged theft of more than $800 million in coronavirus aid.
Out of the 371 defendants charged with pandemic-related fraud, 119 of them either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, according a DOJ press release. Authorities also said that more than $57 million in court-ordered restitution was imposed, and 117 civil matters occurred during the federal sweep, with more than $10.4 million in judgments.
Federal prosecutors also worked with law enforcement authorities to secure forfeiture of more than $231.4 million, the DOJ said.
“The Justice Department has now seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that criminals had stolen and charged over 3,000 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“This latest action, involving over 300 defendants and over $830 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud, should send a clear message: the COVID-19 public health emergency may have ended, but the Justice Department’s work to identify and prosecute those who stole pandemic relief funds is far from over.”
The department also announced the launch of two additional coronavirus fraud strike forces: one at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and one at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The department said that the two new strike forces add to the three strikes launched last September in California, Florida and Maryland.
“The law enforcement actions announced today reflect the Justice Department’s focus — working with our law enforcement partners nationwide — on bringing to justice those who stole from American businesses and families at a time of national emergency,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “The two new Strike Forces launched today will increase our reach as we continue to pursue fraudsters and recover taxpayer funds, no matter how long it takes.”
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The Biden administration announced a series of measures Thursday to track down and punish fraudsters who scammed billions of taxpayer dollars that were supposed to provide relief to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden is pledging $1.6 billion to bolster law enforcement manpower and new programs that will be used to prosecute scammers, prevent fraud, and provide assistance to victims of identity theft.
“We want to not only capture them and get their funds, we want to send a signal to them that you can run, but you cannot hide,” said Gene Sperling, a Biden senior adviser who is overseeing the implementation of the COVID-relief plan.
THE LATEST
• The administration’s plans call for creating 10 Department of Justice “strike forces” that will include U.S. attorneys and other law enforcement officials to investigate COVID-relief fraud and help recover stolen tax dollars. The teams will target criminal syndicates and other major fraudsters. Three strike forces already are in place and have recovered millions of dollars in stolen relief funds, officials said.
• The administration also will propose increasing the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud involving the pandemic Unemployment Insurance program, which has been hit especially hard by scammers.
• Some $300 million will be distributed to inspectors general at the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor and the staff of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a government watchdog over pandemic spending. The money would be used to hire investigators and make sure they have the resources needed to pursue specialized cases of pandemic fraud.
• In his proposed budget to be released next week, Biden will offer a package of legislative reforms to prevent, detect and recover payments made improperly through the Unemployment Insurance program.
• Federal grants would be made to states to help modernize their information technology systems to enable them to respond more quickly to fraud, decrease erroneous payments and provide more efficient claims processing.
• New initiatives also would be put in place to identify victims of identity theft, including an early warning system to stop potentially fraudulent transactions before they occur and a one-stop shop to report identity crimes.
WHY IT MATTERS
The federal government distributed more than $5 trillion in pandemic relief under programs approved by Biden and former President Donald Trump. The money was distributed quickly, leading to an increase in fraud and other improper payments, such as those that shouldn’t have been made or were made in the wrong amount.
The Government Accountability Office reported last month that the extent of fraud in COVID-relief programs is not yet known but that the Unemployment Insurance program alone was believed to have made more than $60 billion in fraudulent payments.
From March 2020 to last January, at least 1,044 people pleaded guilty or were convicted of defrauding COVID relief programs, the GAO report said. Federal charges were pending against another 609 individuals or entities for attempting to defraud COVID-relief programs.
Also, the federal government gave $5.4 billion in COVID aid to small businesses with “questionable” Social Security numbers, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee reported in January. The watchdog identified nearly 70,000 questionable Social Security numbers used to obtain pandemic aid from two programs run by the Small Business Administration.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee has opened an investigation into fraud in COVID-relief programs. The committee held its first hearing on the subject last month.
Sperling, however, said the administration’s anti-fraud package isn’t a direct response to the GOP investigations. Most of the proposals were being prepared before last November’s election, he said.
#us politics#news#usa today#2023#president joe biden#biden administration#ppp loans#stimulus checks#pandemic response#covid relief#fraud#Gene Sperling#identity theft#Department of Justice#Unemployment Insurance#Small Business Administration#Department of Labor#Pandemic Response Accountability Committee#Government Accountability Office
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What Republicans want to cut
environmental protection laws so that the Defense Budget (now at a record high, with many reports of fraud and abuse) can grow
cancel money used to fight covid-19 this money was going to be spent on troubled union pension funds, veterans' health care and medical research.
cancel Student Debt Relief some Republicans want students to have to pay their debt retroactively, for the pause in payments during covid.
targets the 80$ billion given to the IRS for more agents to audit and tax the wealthy/corporations and more agents to assist citizens in filing taxes online for free for the first time, as well as allowing citizens to get their refunds quickly, the US would then lose 204 billion in revenue.
repeal incentives for renewable energy, electric vehicles and other climate-friendly technology
add work requirements to anti-poverty programs
huge government subsidies for oil and gas corporations, already making record profits
make Trump tax cuts for the wealthy, including tax write offs for private planes Permanent
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September Book Pile
In It’s Always Been Ours eating disorder specialist and storyteller Jessica Wilson challenges us to rethink what having a "good" body means in contemporary society. By centering the bodies of Black women in her cultural discussions of body image, food, health, and wellness, Wilson argues that we can interrogate white supremacy’s hold on us and reimagine the ways we think about, discuss, and tend to our bodies.
A narrative that spans the year of racial reckoning (that wasn't), It’s Always Been Ours is an incisive blend of historical documents, contemporary writing, and narratives of clients, friends, and celebrities that examines the politics of body liberation. Wilson argues that our culture’s fixation on thin, white women reinscribes racist ideas about Black women's bodies and ways of being in the world as "too much." For Wilson, this white supremacist, capitalist undergirding in wellness movements perpetuates a culture of respectability and restriction that force Black women to perform unhealthy forms of resilience and strength at the expense of their physical and psychological needs.
With just the right mix of wit, levity, and wisdom, Wilson shows us how a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite to well-being. It’s Always Been Ours is a love letter that celebrates Black women’s bodies and shows us a radical and essential path forward to rediscovering their vulnerability and joy.
Conspirituality takes a deep dive into the troubling phenomenon of influencers who have curdled New Age spirituality and wellness with the politics of paranoia—peddling vaccine misinformation, tales of child trafficking, and wild conspiracy theories.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation.
Since May 2020, Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker have used their Conspirituality podcast to expose countless facets of the intersection of alt-health practitioners with far-right conspiracy trolls. Now this expansive and revelatory book unpacks the follies, frauds, cons and cults that dominate the New Age and wellness spheres and betray the trust of people who seek genuine relief in this uncertain age.
With analytical rigor and irreverent humor, Conspirituality offers an antidote to our times, helping readers recognize wellness grifts, engage with loved ones who've fallen under the influence, and counter lies and distortions with insight and empathy.
An enthralling and original first novel about exile, diaspora, and the impossibility of Black refuge in America and beyond.
In the morning, I received a phone call and was told to board a flight. The arrangements had been made on my behalf. I packed no clothes, because my clothes had been packed for me. A car arrived to pick me up.
A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn’t recognize the country or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone recognizes him, a man who calls him brother—setting him on a quest to find his real brother, who is dying.
In Hangman, Maya Binyam tells the story of that search, and of the phantoms, guides, tricksters, bureaucrats, debtors, taxi drivers, relatives, and riddles that will lead to the truth.
This is an uncommonly assured debut: an existential journey; a tragic farce; a slapstick tragedy; and a strange, and strangely honest, story of one man’s stubborn quest to find refuge—in this world and in the world that lies beyond it.
#book recommendations#jessica wilson#derek beres#matthew remski#julian walker#maya binyam#black women's health#spirituality#conspiracy#literary fiction#south african novels
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A Florida father and son were arrested Wednesday on federal fraud charges after federal prosecutors said they defrauded a COVID-19 business relief program out of $8.4 million and tried to buy a multi-million dollar home near Walt Disney World, court filings show.
Evan Edwards and his son Joshua Edwards ran Aslan International Ministry Inc., a nonprofit that “purportedly provided religious services,” according to the indictment.
In April 2020, prosecutors said the ministry submitted a fraudulent loan application to the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to offer forgivable loans to help businesses cover payroll and other expenses to stay afloat during the pandemic, and ultimately obtained $8,417,200 in PPP funding.
Pastor Evan Edwards, family sought luxury home, prosecutors say
A federal indictment and court records detail the following allegations against the minister and his family:
Evan and Josh submitted fake IRS tax return forms, lied about the ministry employing close to 486 people and claimed average monthly payroll expenses of over $2.7 million in order to be approved for the loans.
The family put $868,250 of the $8.4 million toward the purchase of a $3.7 million home in an upscale Orlando, Florida neighborhood. and the remaining $7.5 million went into Bank of America bank accounts held by the Church of Florida Inc.
Investigators from the Secret Service visited the ministry’s office address, and found it was unoccupied. Neighbors told investigators they hadn’t seen any activity in the building.
A man listed as the ministry’s director in the PPP loan application hadn’t worked with Aslan since 2012 and was unaware that his name still appeared in its business records.
An accountant who purportedly signed the ministry's falsified IRS forms had dementia and hadn’t done accounting since 2017.
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