Washington: More than $250 billion were stolen in the United States as a result of fraudulent schemes in government aid payments during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by US congressmen following a two-year investigation.
“Fraudsters cost the American taxpayer more than $191 billion dollars by taking advantage of the federal government’s unemployment system and exploiting individuals’ personally identifiable information,” the report, published by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, says.
In addition, at least $64 billion in US government money was stolen by fraudsters and criminals who took advantage of the so-called “Paycheck Protection Program,” which provided Americans with financial assistance in the form of loans that could be forgiven if the funds were used to compensate for the difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Another $200 million was “lost” due to insufficient control over support for small businesses.
On December 31, 2019, the Chinese authorities informed the WHO about an outbreak of unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan in the central part of the country (Hubei Province). Moreover, the first cases were somehow connected with the local seafood market. In early January 2020, China officially announced that the outbreak of viral pneumonia of unknown origin was caused by a new type of coronavirus. On March 11, 2020, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that the spread of the new coronavirus was of a pandemic nature.
