PRAC Fraud Alert — $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers (January 2023)

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FRAUD ALERT: PRAC Identifies  
$5.4 Billion in Potentially Fraudulent 
Pandemic Loans Obtained Using  
Over 69,000 Questionable Social 
Security Numbers
Improved Government Information-Sharing and Controls Would 
Strengthen Program Integrity and Better Protect the Public
This Fraud Alert from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) identifies 69,323 questionable Social 
Security Numbers (SSNs) used to obtain $5.4 billion from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19 
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID-19 EIDL) program and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). These programs 
provided nearly $1.2 trillion in assistance to small businesses and their employees affected by the COVID-19 
pandemic.
The PRAC’s team of data scientists identified the potential fraud and identity theft by using the PRAC’s Pandemic 
Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) to analyze information from over 33 million COVID-19 EIDL and PPP applications. 
The PRAC used publicly available Social Security Administration (SSA) information to identify a targeted selection of 
SSNs used on applications, both disbursed and undisbursed, that may have been invalid or not assigned prior to 
2011. Using the legal authorities included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES 
Act), the PRAC then requested SSA provide us with verification information for these SSNs.1 In response, SSA informed 
us that 221,427 of the SSNs used on applications in this targeted selection were either not issued by SSA or that 
identifying information in SSA’s records did not match the name and/or date of birth information provided by the 
COVID-19 EIDL or PPP applicant, suggesting potential identity fraud in the use of those SSNs.2 The PRAC determined 
that $5.4 billion in COVID-19 EIDL or PPP loans was disbursed to applicants using 69,323 of those SSNs between April 
2020 and October 2022. The PRAC further determined that 175,768 of the SSNs were used in COVID-19 EIDL and/or 
PPP applications that were not disbursed by SBA for reasons we discuss below (see Table 1 for analysis).
1	
The PRAC did not request or obtain SSN data from SSA in connection with this analytics review. Rather, as described below, we requested that SSA simply 
verify information that applicants had provided to SBA in COVID-19 EIDL and PPP applications, which SSA performed and then provided us with the results.
2	
We would expect some false positives in the 221,427 questionable SSN population based on fuzzy matching logic where two records are not exact matches 
but have a high likelihood of referring to the same individual. Performing an automated match is subject to error, including unrecognized nicknames or 
misspellings, transposed numbers, and data entry and clerical errors. We observed examples where records were flagged as an incorrect name when an 
individual’s first name and last name were transposed. We cannot estimate the exact proportion of false positives without an in-depth understanding of the 
verification algorithm used by SSA. To maintain the security of SSA’s SSN verification process, SSA does not release the agency’s matching logic concerning 
how it verifies SSNs.
221,427 SSNs at-risk 
for identity fraud
69,323 SSNs used 
across paid PPP and 
EIDL applications
$5.4 billion in potential 
identity fraud
$5.4 
billion
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2
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
Background
SBA’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster 
Loan and Paycheck Protection Programs
SBA’s COVID-19 EIDL and EIDL Advance programs provide funding 
to help small businesses recover from the economic impacts of the 
COVID-19 pandemic. To date, SBA has provided over $378 billion 
in COVID-19 EIDL loans and COVID-19 EIDL advances (grants). The 
program closed to new applications on January 1, 2022.
PPP provided SBA-backed loans to businesses to keep their 
workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis. The program ended 
on May 31, 2021, after more than 11 million PPP loans were 
approved totaling about $800 billion. 
COVID-19 EIDL and PPP were more susceptible to fraud due to the 
elevated urgency for agencies to provide timely relief to applicants 
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SBA’s initial approach to 
implement these programs quickly made billions of dollars available 
to millions of borrowers affected by the pandemic, but used few 
program controls to verify applicants’ eligibility prior to disbursing 
funds. For example, SBA launched PPP on April 3, 2020, one week 
after enactment of the CARES Act, with limited controls in place to 
ensure program integrity. Although SBA subsequently added certain 
fraud prevention controls in 2021, the initial implementation of 
PPP prioritized the speed of disbursing funds rather than scrutiny 
of applicant eligibility, a trade-off that contributed to widespread 
fraud.3 Certain PPP CARES Act provisions were intended to provide 
expeditious relief to small businesses and workers and streamlined 
some of the requirements that lenders use to screen borrowers. 
The statute provided that lenders could rely on borrowers’ self-
certifications of eligibility (e.g., an individual certified that they run 
a company with 50 employees and an average monthly payroll of 
$350,000); however, this did not prohibit SBA or lenders from using 
additional information to verify program eligibility. For example, 
PPP lenders were required to comply with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) 
requirements.4 Yet, applicants were not checked against the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury’s already-existing Do Not Pay (DNP) 
service in 2020. 
3	
For PPP loans processed in 2021, SBA employed a combination of upfront controls 
during the loan application stage to validate application data submitted by lenders, 
verify program eligibility, and help lenders verify the identity of applicants before 
approving loan applications.
4	
This included having an Anti-Money Laundering compliance program in place with 
risk-based procedures for conducting customer due diligence, such as developing 
a customer risk profile and conducting ongoing monitoring to detect and report 
suspicious transactions to maintain and update customer information—including 
identifying and verifying beneficial ownership.
Improving Government 
Information-Sharing
 
The ability to perform the type of SSN check the 
PRAC conducted was not readily available to SBA 
when it faced a deluge of applications in 2020 
for COVID-19 EIDL and PPP relief, as described in 
more detail throughout this Alert. Nevertheless, 
the results of this Fraud Alert demonstrate the 
benefit of a consent-based verification process to 
authenticate basic applicant information—such as 
name, date of birth, and Social Security Number—to 
ensure applicant eligibility and to prevent program 
and identity fraud. Such an internal control, which 
we believe is a best practice, can be facilitated by 
legislative language requiring federal agencies to use 
a consent-based verification process when making 
applicant eligibility determinations and by authorizing 
SSA to verify information for this purpose.5 As the 
PRAC, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG), 
and the Government Accountability Office have all 
previously reported, the speed of federal agencies’ 
disbursal of pandemic relief funds increased the 
risk of fraud in COVID-19 EIDL and PPP. For example, 
by April 16, 2020, just 14 days after SBA launched 
the program, PPP lenders approved more than 
1,661,000 loans totaling nearly $342.3 billion.6 
Moreover, by April 24, 2020, SBA approved more 
than 38,000 COVID-19 EIDL loans totaling more 
than $7.9 billion. That number grew to over 707,000 
loans totaling nearly $55.8 billon by May 30, 2020. 
The urgency for agencies to respond to the pandemic 
with financial assistance underscores the need for 
improved information-sharing across the federal 
government to better verify program eligibility before 
approving applications for government benefits 
rather than attempting to claw back funds after 
benefits are improperly disbursed. 
5	
For example, in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, 
and Consumer Protection Act of 2018, (Public Law 115-174, 
Title II, Section 215, codified at 42 U.S.C. 405b), Congress 
directed SSA to modify or develop a database (known as 
Consent Based Social Security Number Verification or eCBSV) 
for the purpose of accepting and comparing fraud protection 
data provided electronically by a financial institution. The 
statute provides in Section 405b(A): “The purpose of this 
section is to reduce the prevalence of synthetic identity 
fraud, which disproportionally affects vulnerable populations, 
such as minors, by facilitating the validation by permitted 
entities of fraud protection data, pursuant to electronically 
received consumer consent, through use of a database 
maintained by the SSA Commissioner.”
6	
See SBA OIG report titled, “Implementation of Inspection of 
SBA’s Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program,” 
January 14, 2021

3
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
In January 2021, SBA OIG reported that it had cross-referenced applications with DNP as of August 2020 and found 
that 57,473 SBA-backed PPP forgivable loans worth $3.6 billion were paid to potentially ineligible recipients. Utilizing 
Treasury’s DNP system gives agencies a higher degree of certainty that a recipient is legitimate and eligible before 
making an award or releasing federal funds, and SBA began checking PPP applicants against Treasury’s DNP system 
as of January 2021. SBA also made improvements to its COVID-19 EIDL program controls in April 2021 to scrutinize 
applicant eligibility more closely.7 SBA OIG has reported on SBA’s implementation of additional internal controls for 
COVID-19 EIDL, including the addition of requiring a borrower’s consent (form 4506-T) to obtain Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) tax transcripts to verify eligibility prior to approving and disbursing payments. SBA OIG continues to 
assess the implementation of controls for COVID-19 EIDL and PPP.8
What We Found
The PRAC identified $5.4 billion in potential identity fraud associated with 69,323 questionable and unverified SSNs 
used across disbursed COVID-19 EIDL and PPP applications—that is, applications that successfully received a loan 
and/or grant. Eligibility for these disbursements could have been questioned further by SBA before the loan and/or 
grant had been disbursed if the COVID-19 EIDL and PPP loan programs required SBA—or SBA otherwise had access 
to information necessary—to verify the accuracy of SSNs and the associated information on borrower applications, 
such as the applicants’ full names and dates of birth.9 SSA is a recognized source for this information for a variety 
of federal programs. However, the process to implement new SSN verification agreements among agencies and 
address legal questions regarding the permissibility of information-sharing can be lengthy.10 Consequently, the 
time required to establish these types of agreements creates delays and challenges in achieving effective program 
administration and oversight, particularly in an emergency. Having such information-sharing agreements in place 
before an emergency would ensure timely access to verification information and improve federal program integrity, 
protect taxpayer funds from improper payments and fraud, better ensure benefits are paid only to those who are 
truly eligible, and reduce the incidence of identity fraud in government programs, thereby helping protect victims of 
identity theft.
7	
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, ended the CARES Act provision that authorized SBA to rely on applicant 
self-certification of eligibility and allowed SBA to obtain tax return transcripts (via borrower consent form 4506-T) from the IRS to help verify eligibility: SBA 
Procedural Notice: Changes to 4506-T Tax Transcript Verification Procedures during the COVID-19 Emergency. The agency implemented this requirement 
on April 28, 2021, for the COVID-19 EIDL program.
8	
See SBA OIG report titled, “OIG Final Report 22-22 Follow-up Inspection of SBA’s Internal Controls to Prevent COVID-19 EIDLs to Ineligible Applicants,” 
September 29, 2022.
9	
As noted previously, the SSN verification process is susceptible to false positives, as we ourselves noted in this review, and therefore an SSN being 
flagged for potential fraud would not necessarily mean that an applicant is ineligible for a loan or benefit program, or engaged in fraud, but rather that the 
application should undergo further screening before making an eligibility determination.
10	
According to SSA, SSA conducts over two billion SSN verifications annually. These exchanges include verifications specifically authorized under statutorily 
mandated programs (e.g., E-Verify) and consent-based processes (e.g., eCBSV). They also include disclosures made in accordance with the Privacy Act, 
Section 1106 of the Social Security Act, and SSA’s privacy regulations at 20 C.F.R. 401.150 by which SSA will provide information to another federal agency 
when the information is necessary to determine eligibility in a health or income maintenance program which is compatible with SSA’s Social Security 
programs.

4
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
SSNs Used to Obtain $5.4 Billion in Loans and Grants Were Flagged for Potential Identity 
Fraud by Triggering At Least One SSA Verification Code
The 69,323 SSNs associated with the $5.4 billion triggered at least one of the following four SSA identity verification 
codes: 
1.	the SSN was not issued by SSA;11 
2.	the SSN was associated with a different name according to SSA’s records; 
3.	the SSN was associated with a different date of birth at SSA; and 
4.	the SSN was not verified by SSA for another reason. 
SSA advised the PRAC that given the sensitive nature of its verification process for these high-level identity fraud 
categories, it limits publicly releasable information regarding that process. 
These 69,323 SSNs were used in connection with 99,180 disbursed COVID-19 EIDL loan and/or grant applications 
and disbursed PPP loan applications submitted between April 2020 and October 2022. The number of SSNs and 
applications are not a one-for-one match given that a distinct SSN could have been used across multiple COVID-19 
EIDL and/or PPP applications, disbursed and undisbursed. Therefore, an application can be associated with multiple 
verification codes. See Table 1 below.
Table 1. Disbursed COVID-19 EIDL and PPP Loans Associated with SSNs with Verification Codes 
Indicating Potential Fraud (April 2020 through October 2022)
SSA Identity Verification Codes*
Disbursed COVID-19 
EIDL Applications
Disbursed PPP Loan 
Applications 
Amount Disbursed
($s in Billions)
SSN not issued by the SSA
9,789
2,420
$0.4 
SSN with incorrect name
33,135
26,729
$3.4 
SSN with incorrect date of birth
10,174
17,567
$1.7 
SSN not verified – other reason
22
15
$0.002 
Source: PRAC analysis of SSA’s verification of the targeted selection of SSNs resulting from SSA’s Enumeration Verification System (EVS).
* Note: SSA informed the PRAC that a significant number of SSNs in the PRAC’s targeted selection were associated with deceased individuals. 
We have not included those SSNs and the associated loans in this Fraud Alert because we are in the process of determining whether those 
individuals were alive at the time the COVID-19 EIDL or PPP application was submitted.
11	
SSNs that have not been issued and cannot be matched to an individual may be indicative of synthetic identities. According to the Federal Trade 
Commission, a synthetic identity is a combination of real and fictitious information—for example, a fake SSN with a genuine name— to create new identities.

5
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
Additional SSNs Flagged for Potential Identity Fraud for Attempted but Undisbursed Loans 
Could Be Used in Future Fraud Attempts
Across the PRAC’s targeted selection of SSNs used to apply for COVID-19 EIDL and PPP loans, the SSA verification 
process flagged 221,427 distinct SSNs that triggered at least one of the four SSA identity verification codes 
referenced above. As noted previously, 69,323 of these 221,427 SSNs were associated with disbursed loans and/
or grants totaling $5.4 billion. We further determined that 175,768 of the 221,427 SSNs were associated with 
COVID-19 EIDL and/or PPP applications that were attempted and not disbursed. These SSNs could be used in a 
future attempt to obtain benefits from other government programs, and therefore warrant further scrutiny. As we 
have previously reported, there has been a substantial rise in identity theft and identity fraud in recent years.12 
According to SBA, the attempted but undisbursed loan and/or grant applications associated with our targeted 
selection of SSNs were not disbursed for a variety of reasons. For COVID-19 EIDL: (1) they were determined to be 
duplicate applications; (2) they were declined due to ineligibility or incomplete documentation; or (3) the applicants 
indicated they were not interested in pursuing the loan after the initial application. Reasons for not disbursing PPP 
loans are not as clear because, unlike COVID-19 EIDL, PPP lenders did not track denials, nor did SBA require them to 
do so.
Next Steps
The PRAC’s Fraud Task Force will work with SBA OIG, our other law enforcement partners, and the Department 
of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to further investigate the $5.4 billion we identified in 
potential fraud and identity theft. In addition, the PRAC will provide SBA with the results of our analysis for further 
management review and action. Given the potential negative impacts on individuals who may be victims of identity 
fraud, we urge SBA to: 
1.	In preparation for future emergencies, assess lessons learned across COVID-19 EIDL and PPP policies, 
procedures, and internal controls to help improve program integrity and prevent identity fraud.
Additionally, we urge SBA and SSA to work together to:
2.	Further examine the potential identity fraud we have identified using collaborative verification methods to 
determine which instances are likely fraud, with SBA taking appropriate action to recover fraudulently obtained 
funds.
3.	Determine where individuals’ SSNs were fraudulently used, with SBA informing identity theft victims and 
making them aware of available identity fraud redress options.
4.	Explore information-sharing agreement(s) that will allow these agencies to conduct verifications across all SBA-
funded grant, loan and benefit programs which are vulnerable to identity fraud.
Further, the PRAC’s data scientists continue to use the PACE to assess the potential use of questionable SSNs and 
examine potential identity fraud in other pandemic programs.  
12	
The Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million identity theft reports related to government documents or benefits in 2020—a 2,920 percent increase 
from the previous year.

6
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
Our Approach and Analysis
How We Identified the Targeted Selection of SSNs
The PRAC’s data scientists launched this effort by using the Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) to 
examine the underlying data for 21 million COVID-19 EIDL applications and 12.5 million PPP loans that the PRAC 
obtained from SBA’s systems in early 2022, pursuant to our CARES Act authority. Using publicly available SSA 
information and the first three borrower contact fields13 in the COVID-19 EIDL application data, our data scientists 
created a targeted selection14 of 2.7 million SSNs out of approximately 25 million SSNs that fell under two rule sets: 
1.	potentially invalid SSNs15 and,
2.	SSNs potentially “not issued” prior to June 2011.16 
We did not have access to the government information necessary to verify the targeted selection of SSNs and 
therefore required SSA’s assistance to complete our analysis. After extensive discussions and collaboration 
covering legal disclosure authorities, technical data exchange requirements, financial reimbursement, and a written 
disclosure agreement, we received verification results from SSA in November 2022.17
What Did We Ask SSA to Verify?
For the 2.7 million SSNs in our targeted selection, we asked SSA to verify the following:
•	 Is the SSN valid?
•	 Does the name associated with the SSN on the loan match SSA records?
•	 Does the date of birth associated with the SSN on the loan match SSA records?
•	 Is the SSN used on the loan associated with a deceased individual? 
13	
These represent Contact 1, 2, and 3 information from COVID-19 EIDL applications which includes SSN, first name, last name, and date of birth. COVID-19 
EIDL applications include 5 fields of contact information from Contact 1 through Contact 5. We used 3 fields for our targeted selection as Contact 4 and 
Contact 5 information is rarely populated.
14	
According to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards that address sampling techniques, when a representative sample is not needed, a 
targeted selection may be used if isolated risk factors or other criteria exist to target a selection. 
15	
A SSN is considered invalid based on SSA’s definition outlined on its website, “Definition of Invalid SSN” and “SSAFactSheet--IssuingSSNs.pdf”
16	
“Not issued” refers to SSNs with area number ranges (the first three digits in the SSN) that were not assigned to a particular state prior to June 2011, as 
indicated on SSA’s website. Based on this information and associated dates, we were initially concerned that a significant portion of these SSNs could have 
belonged to minors. We subsequently discovered instances where such area numbers and associated SSNs were issued to individuals, both minors and 
adults.
17	
For example, we were not able to obtain verification information from SSA until after SSA spoke to the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel 
regarding the PRAC’s legal authority to obtain such verification information.

7
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
How We Identified the Group of SSNs that Triggered One or More of the Four Verification 
Codes
From the verification results returned by SSA, the PRAC data scientists identified 221,427 distinct SSNs that 
triggered at least one of four SSA verification codes and their associated transactions. Here’s how our work evolved:  
•	 We identified COVID-19 EIDL applications, disbursed as well as attempted and undisbursed, associated with 
the flagged 221,427 SSNs returned by SSA.
•	 Subsequently, we identified PPP loans associated with the same flagged subset of SSNs.18
•	 Lastly, we derived the distinct SSNs, transaction counts, and payment amounts associated with disbursed 
applications (summarized in Table 1 on page 4).
In total, across the targeted selection of SSNs studied, we identified 221,427 distinct SSNs flagged for potential 
identity fraud that were used to apply for COVID-19 EIDL or PPP loans. 
•	 69,323 of these SSNs were associated with disbursed loans and/or grants (Table 1).
•	 175,76819 of these SSNs were associated with COVID-19 EIDL and/or PPP applications that were attempted 
and undisbursed. 
The PRAC is working with Treasury Department’s DNP on a review of SSNs from our targeted selection that SSA’s 
records indicated were associated with deceased persons.20 We will share more information on the results of this 
analysis once complete.
18	
To identify the PPP applications associated with the targeted selection of SSNs, we matched 221,427 SSNs only against self-reported SSNs within 
PPP data. For PPP applications, contact name was not required to be split into first and last name, and date of birth information is not well populated 
(populated in approximately 13 percent of applications).
19	
Of the 175,768 SSNs used in applications that were attempted but not disbursed, 152,104 SSNs are not associated with any disbursed COVID-19 EIDL or 
PPP applications, and 23,664 are used in both disbursed and undisbursed applications.
20	
SSA can only provide the death indicator information for fully verified SSNs. The SSNs associated with deceased individuals would have a fully verified 
status from SSA.

8
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
Need for SSA Assistance 
We asked SSA to verify information that was not available to us—that is, the true name and date of birth associated 
with the SSNs included in pandemic loan applications—and that was not readily available to SBA when reviewing 
program applicants’ eligibility for COVID-19 EIDL and PPP. Overall, the collaboration process was lengthy and 
challenging for both the PRAC and SSA. However, once the legal and technical issues were resolved, SSA expedited 
its data exchange process and promptly provided the PRAC with the requested information. Our experience 
highlights the value of having consent-based SSN verification authorities and requirements included in legislation 
establishing benefit programs to improve benefit administration and enhance program integrity. While we required 
the information to verify our detection of potential fraud and improper payments, program officials—such as those 
responsible for making COVID-19 EIDL and PPP eligibility decisions—require the information for the prevention 
of fraud and improper payments. Although SBA did not attempt to obtain expedited access to SSA verification 
information, the time that would have been required for SBA to reach an agreement with SSA for the information-
sharing or collaboration likely would have exceeded the timeframes in which SBA was expected to process COVID-19 
EIDL and PPP actions given the urgency of pandemic response. For historical context, prior to PPP, the SBA’s largest 
total in lending in one year was $30 billion; in fiscal year 2020, it processed nearly $50 billion in a single day 
according to SBA-OIG. 
In the future, clearer statutory guidance on when such information can be shared can help alleviate the need 
for time-consuming negotiations among agencies before the next crisis occurs. While an SSN is not a definitive 
identity verification measure, it is a relevant and reliable source of information for program administration across 
government benefit and lending programs, such as COVID-19 EIDL and PPP, to provide a higher degree of assurance 
that an applicant is legitimate and eligible. Further, it is information that is readily available at SSA. However, until 
better information-sharing practices are established governmentwide, federal agencies will remain hampered in 
their ability to effectively administer programs, ensure program integrity, detect and prevent fraudulent and improper 
payments, and better protect the public from identity theft. To build on our previous reporting of this issue, we 
continue to review best practices across government information-sharing and internal controls, and our ongoing work 
will highlight how they can be applied to effectively manage future emergency relief and response efforts as well as 
improve overall program integrity.21
21	
See PRAC report titled, “Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program Phase III Fraud Controls,” January 21, 2022. See PRAC report titled, 
“Lessons Learned in Oversight of Pandemic Relief Funds,” as of June 8, 2022. See PRAC report titled, “Key Insights: Identity Fraud Reduction and Redress 
in Pandemic Response Programs,” June 13, 2022.

9
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
FRAUD ALERT: $5.4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Used Questionable Social Security Numbers
About the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
The CARES Act provided the PRAC with funding and unique legal and hiring authorities to perform its oversight 
responsibilities, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included additional funding that allowed the PRAC to 
create its advanced data analytics platform, the Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence.
The PRAC promotes transparency by reporting accessible and comprehensive spending data on its website, 
PandemicOversight.gov; collaborates across the oversight community to identify cross-cutting issues and risks; and 
detects fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement of relief spending to hold wrongdoers accountable.
Through our diverse and innovative staff, the PRAC is building both a model and a legacy for oversight that supports 
Inspectors General in the wake of this current crisis and in preparation for future ones.
PRAC’s Commitment to Quality and Integrity
We conducted this review using agile oversight principles that require we adhere to the professional standards 
of independence, due professional care, and quality assurance and follow procedures to ensure accuracy of 
the information presented. The PRAC relied on SSA’s verification results. To maintain the security of SSA’s SSN 
verification process, SSA does not release the agency’s matching logic concerning how it verifies SSNs. We believe 
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for the results of our analysis.

For more information:
Lisa Reijula
Associate Director, Outreach and Engagement
Lisa.Reijula@cigie.gov
Visit us at:
PandemicOversight.gov
Follow us at:
@COVID_Oversight
Report Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Misconduct:
To report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or 
misconduct regarding pandemic relief funds or programs 
please go to the PRAC website at
PandemicOversight.gov.
A Committee of the
Council of the Inspectors General
on Integrity and Efficiency

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