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PANDEMIC RESPONSE ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
Message from the Chair
I’m proud to present the Pandemic Response • detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse,
Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) Spring 2022 and mismanagement of relief spending
Semiannual Report to Congress. With the creation through leading-edge data insights and analytic
of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic tools; and
Security (CARES) Act, you gave us a big job to do.
We conduct independent oversight and facilitate • holding wrongdoers accountable by
coordination among federal Inspectors General marshaling the investigative and analytic
(IGs) that oversee more than $5 trillion in federal resources of the oversight community.
pandemic relief emergency spending spread out During the past six months, we issued two PRAC-
among 426 programs and administered by 40 generated reports. The first report examined
federal agencies. antifraud controls that the Small Business
Administration (SBA) implemented in 2021 to
It has been my honor to serve as Chair of the PRAC determine whether they could have prevented
since April 2020, championing a new way of working the types of fraud the agency experienced in its
with Offices of the Inspectors General (OIG) to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The second
ensure that taxpayer money is being used effectively report examined cross-cutting challenges states
and efficiently to address the pandemic-related faced within their pandemic unemployment
public health and economic needs funded through insurance programs. We also commissioned a
the COVID-19 relief bills. report highlighting best practices for minimizing
fraud risk and lessons learned from the
We were created in the midst of a crisis and while State Workforce Agencies that administered
much of the country has transitioned from crisis unemployment insurance programs during the
mode to a “new normal,” we remain focused on pandemic. In addition, 29 OIGs issued 79 reports
examining the government’s historic response to the related to pandemic relief oversight with a total
pandemic as reflected in the rigorous oversight we of 184 recommendations and $9.8 billion in
have engaged in over these last six months. During monetary findings during the past six months.
this reporting period, we continued to fulfill our
mandate of: Of course, effectively overseeing $5 trillion in relief
• promoting transparency by publicly reporting spending would be impossible without data. At the
accessible and comprehensive pandemic relief PRAC, we have been using data science to advance
spending data; our oversight mission. The Pandemic Analytics
Center of Excellence (PACE) continues to deliver
• collaborating across the oversight community analytic, audit, and investigative support to the
to identify cross-cutting issues and risks; oversight community as you will read about in a new
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee ii
section of our Semiannual Report highlighting some oversight and building a legacy for how the IG
of the team’s most successful case studies. community manages future large-scale government
relief efforts.
Meanwhile, the PRAC’s Fraud Task Force has grown
to 43 criminal investigators from 13 OIGs. The I hope you find this Semiannual Report interesting
Task Force serves the IG community by surging and insightful.
investigative resources into areas with the greatest
need, such as pandemic loan fraud. They work
cases that might otherwise go unaddressed due to
the scale of fraud and mismanagement in pandemic
relief programs we are finding.
This Semiannual Report highlights these and other The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz
achievements from October 1, 2021 through March Chair, PRAC
31, 2022, to demonstrate how the PRAC is providing Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice
a model for effective, coordinated government
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee iii
Contents
Message from the Chair ii
Highlights 1
Background 2
PRAC Accomplishments 4
Goal One–Promote Transparency 5
Goal Two–Promote Coordinated, Comprehensive Oversight 7
Goal Three–Prevent and Detect Fraud, Waste,
Abuse, and Mismanagement 12
Goal Four–Ensure Effective and Efficient PRAC Operations 13
Holding Wrongdoers Accountable Through Investigations 14
Key Insights Through Oversight Reports 22
Key Insight 1: Increased Focus on Fraud Controls and Managing Risk 22
Key Insight 2: Incomplete Data Can Hinder Agency
Leadership Decision-Making 24
Key Insight 3: Improving Customer Service Performance and Reform 25
Key Insight 4: Using and Expanding Remote Work Capabilities 26
Appendix A: Acronyms 28
Appendix B: Pandemic-Related Reports by Office of Inspector General 29
Appendix C: Hotline Data 34
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Highlights
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 1
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
Background
Established in March 2020 by the CARES Act, The PRAC is comprised of 21 IGs (see below). We
the PRAC is a Committee of the Council of the are staffed by a full-time Executive Director and 46
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency employees distributed across three lines of business
(CIGIE). CIGIE is an independent entity established (Oversight & Accountability, Outreach & Engagement,
within the executive branch by the Inspector General and Transparency) and three support functions
Act of 1978, as amended, whose membership (Chief Information Officer, Chief Counsel, and Chief
includes the 75 statutorily created federal IGs. Data Officer).
The CARES Act identifies IGs from nine agencies The PRAC promotes transparency and provides
as members of the PRAC. The Chair can designate Congress and the public with objective, reliable
additional IGs to serve on the Committee from information about the $5 trillion in pandemic
any agency that receives pandemic funds or is relief dollars at PandemicOversight.gov. We also
involved in the federal government’s response to work with IGs to develop recommendations for
the COVID-19 pandemic. The IGs serving on the program improvements, refer matters for criminal
Committee continue to perform their IG duties. investigations, and identify misspent funds for
recovery.
PRAC Membership
Name Department or Agency OIG
Michael E. Horowitz, Chair Department of Justice
Paul K. Martin, Vice Chair National Aeronautics and Space Association
Phyllis K. Fong Department of Agriculture
Sean W. O’Donnell Department of Defense
Sandra D. Bruce Department of Education
Christi A. Grimm Department of Health and Human Services
Joseph Cuffari Department of Homeland Security
Rae Oliver Davis Department of Housing and Urban Development
Mark Lee Greenblatt Department of the Interior
Larry D. Turner Department of Labor
Eric J. Soskin Department of Transportation
Richard Delmar Department of the Treasury
Michael J. Missal Department of Veterans Affairs
Jay N. Lerner Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Mark Bialek Federal Reserve Board / Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Allison C. Lerner National Science Foundation
Robert P. Storch National Security Agency
Hannibal “Mike” Ware Small Business Administration
Brian D. Miller Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
J. Russell George Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Tammy L. Whitcomb U.S. Postal Service
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Semiannual Report to Congress
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The PRAC released its Strategic Plan for 2020 through 2025 in July 2020. The plan identifies four goals
to carry out the PRAC’s mission and vision (see the following figure). These goals and objectives are not
mutually exclusive—audits, investigations, reviews, and other activities may meet more than one goal or
objective.
MISSION
To serve the American public by promoting transparency and the coordinated oversight
of the Federal Government’s coronavirus response to prevent and detect fraud, waste,
abuse, and mismanagement and mitigate major risks that cross program and agency
boundaries.
VISION
Sound stewardship of taxpayer funds and an effective and efficient coronavirus
response across the Federal Government, the oversight of which will be data-driven,
risk-focused, and technology-enabled.
GOALS
Promote Transparency
Ensure Effective
and Efficient
PRAC Operations
Promote Coordinated,
Comprehensive
Oversite
Prevent and Detect Fraud, Waste,
Abuse, and Mismanagement
Figure 1. PRAC Mission, Vision, and Goals
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Semiannual Report to Congress
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PRAC Accomplishments
The PRAC was established to serve the American public by promoting transparency and facilitating
coordinated oversight of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 pandemic response and associated spending.
Our goals are to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement and to identify and mitigate major risks
that cross program and agency boundaries. We aim to serve as the eyes and ears of the American public,
monitoring the government’s pandemic response spending and reporting accessible, timely, accurate, and
comprehensive data that can be translated into actionable insights. The following figure depicts the goals
set out in our Strategic Plan for 2020 through 2025 and key accomplishments we have achieved during this
reporting period, as aligned with the PRAC’s mission and vision.
SBA/PPP Fraud 15 New
Updated Website Controls Report Employees
Promote Prevent &
Coordinated, Detect Fraud, Ensure Effective
Promote & Efficient
Transparency Comprehensive Waste, Abuse &
Oversight Mismanagement PRAC Operations
!
NBC News Interview & PACE Risk Models PRAC- HUD OIG
Congressional Testimony Fraud Risk Assessment
Figure 2. PRAC Goals
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Semiannual Report to Congress
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Goal One–Promote Transparency
Provide the Public with Timely Data and Information on
Covered Funds and the Coronavirus Response
Transparency is core to the PRAC mission laid out by
Congress in the CARES Act. We continue to explore ways
to engage the public and empower them to act as citizen PRAC-Issued Report
watchdogs. We do this through our audit reports, our
As reported in Increasing Transparency into COVID-19
website, and public events.
Spending (published October 19, 2021), some examples
of meaningless descriptions include:
On October 19, 2021, we published a report on data
gaps in pandemic relief spending. To conduct this • 12,600 awards with descriptions that just repeated
work, we looked at 51,000 awards worth $347 billion the name of the program, like “Community
that supported the pandemic response (as of June Development Block Grants,”
15, 2021) and found more than 15,400 awards worth • 2,500 awards listing technical jargon, like
$33 billion with meaningless descriptions that obscured CCC5- 2021, and
transparency into reporting data. • 360 awards listing variations of pandemic related
relief legislation, like CARES Act.
We made five recommendations, with which OMB
concurred and took steps to implement to varying Dead ends like these make it really hard to know what
recipients of pandemic relief awards spent the money on.
degrees, as shown in Table 1.
Read more in our full report.
PRAC Recommendations to OMB
Recommendation Status
Offer agencies resources focused on improving the quality, consistency, and clarity of
pandemic-related award descriptions.
Develop and implement a plan to disseminate examples of insufficient award descriptions.
Engage with Congress to explore options for extending the independent oversight of USAspending.gov data
submissions and develop new requirements for agency award descriptions.
Conduct a feasibility study on how to better track and report subrecipient funding.
Engage with Congress to consider legislating amendments to extend the independent oversight of
USAspending.gov data submissions and develop new requirements for reviewing subrecipient reporting.
Implemented Resolved but Open Closed
Table 1. PRAC Five Recommendations
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Meanwhile, we remain committed to making
publicly available data accessible on our website. We made 41 reports from state and local oversight
agencies available on our website during the
PandemicOversight.gov includes interactive
Spring 2022 reporting period. We will continue to
dashboards that enable users to search names
add more as they are published so the public and
and businesses that received Paycheck Protection
policymakers can see the full inventory of what federal,
Program loans or money from the Coronavirus Relief state, and local agencies are finding in their oversight of the
Fund. This gives the power of oversight to the public, pandemic response.
allowing them to search through trillions of dollars’
worth of relief funding directly from their computers.
We also added a new “Spotlight On” section to the
website to draw users’ attention to notable features,
Over the last six months, we have launched new
such as our new Unemployment Insurance (UI)
features on PandemicOversight.gov and updated the
fraud map, state and local information, and ways
site’s organization, functionality, and design using
the PRAC is fighting identity theft and using data
web and user behavior analytics tools. The result
intelligence to fight pandemic fraud.
is a site with more visual impact and language that
explains our work more clearly and concisely.
We also co-sponsored two virtual roundtables with
the National Academy of Public Administration
In our last Semiannual Report to Congress, we
on the impact of housing and rental assistance
discussed the rollout of a new feature called Data
relief programs on underserved communities and
Stories. Since then, we have published 23— short
the effectiveness of pandemic relief programs in
and simple stories that break down complex data—
broadband assistance. In addition, we participated
among them:
in a virtual conversation with the Congressional
• Itemization of ways $2 billion in funding Transparency Caucus about our role overseeing
from the Coronavirus Economic Relief for $5 trillion in pandemic response and co-hosted a
Transportation Services program kept motor webinar with the Levin Center for state legislators
coaches, school buses, and passenger vessels and staff.
running;
Finally, this reporting period was a strong one
• Explanation of how 2,000 prime recipients in for media engagement. The PRAC has continued
177 foreign countries received $6.4 billion in to build relationships with journalists from small
pandemic relief funding; local publications to national newspapers, as well
as radio and podcasts. These outreach efforts
• Breakdown of how states are using $189.5 culminated in a featured segment on NBC Nightly
billion in Elementary and Secondary School News with Lester Holt aired as part of the network’s
Emergency Relief grants—distributed as part popular investigative series The Fleecing of America.
of the Education Stabilization Fund—to curb The segment was aired across a range of NBC
learning loss and support student needs; and platforms, including TODAY, MSNBC, NBCNews.com,
• Update on how much each state spent on and NBC News NOW, ultimately reaching some 11
Rental Assistance. million viewers across the United States. Media
coverage like this not only heightens awareness
These stories and more are part of our commitment about the PRAC, but builds our credibility and
to educate the public so they can understand how reaffirms the importance of our mission.
their tax dollars are being spent.
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Semiannual Report to Congress
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Goal Two–Promote Coordinated,
Comprehensive Oversight
Facilitate Exceptional Coordination and Collaboration
to Ensure High-Impact Results
The PRAC has five subcommittees and four As mentioned in our previous Semiannual Report to
working groups to share ongoing oversight and Congress, we created the Identity Fraud Reduction
accountability efforts, best practices, and lessons and Redress Working Group in July 2021 to address
learned among our 21 member IGs. The working this serious challenge. In the reporting period
groups pursue efforts like ongoing reviews of since, we published Key Insights: State Pandemic
multi-dipping and state and local coordination with Unemployment Insurance Programs in December
the federal community, including the Government 2021, a capping report that looked at 40 reports
Accountability Office, on high risks and areas of from 16 state auditors in which we described how
concern. In particular, identity fraud has emerged as one of the new federal unemployment insurance
a leading concern at the PRAC and a key priority in programs did not require proof of income or
the months—and indeed, years— ahead. identity, making it difficult for state auditors to verify
eligibility. We also found that multiple states paid
benefits to prisoners or individuals that applied
using stolen identities.
PRAC-Issued Report
On December 16, 2021, we issued Key Insights: State
In addition to our efforts to combat identity fraud,
Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Programs. the PRAC and our member IGs are working on more
than 200 pandemic oversight
We found that the sudden and unprecedented surge in engagements that focus on
unemployment insurance claims during the pandemic hit What is
other emerging issues like multi-dipping?
states hard. public health and safety
In April 2020 alone, Kansas received as well as how to prevent When recipients of pandemic
funds use money from more
12.5 million phone calls to its State and detect fraud in
than one pandemic response
Workforce Agency’s customer service line. government programs. program for the same thing.
Oklahoma paid out ten times the normal
amount on unemployment insurance in a
typical year.
Washington received more than
180,000 claims in one week in March 2020.
Read more in our full report.
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Ensure Efficient Sharing of Data, Analytics, and
Other Information
With the funding Congress provided in the American Rescue Plan Act, we launched the Pandemic Analytics
Center of Excellence (PACE) to deliver analytic, audit, and investigative support to the oversight community.
We’ve acquired more than 20 public and non-public federal datasets and shared them with 29 IGs to help
investigators find fraud across relief programs. We’ve brought in the best and brightest data science talent
and have trained and placed 18 data science fellows with our member IGs to help analyze pandemic
relief data.
Here are a few case studies to illustrate how the PACE is delivering data-driven, technology-enabled tools to
support pandemic oversight.
Cross Agency Data Matching Case Study
Background
The executive director of a public housing authority in two Midwest counties contacted SBA OIG when they
began receiving anonymous calls after the award list of PPP loan recipients was made
available online.
Business Challenge or EIDL loans that were inconsistent with income
The housing authority sought the OIG’s assistance eligibility requirements.
to match all participant names with PPP and
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) data. Given Results
prosecution thresholds and large caseloads, the The SBA placed holds
SBA OIG was unable to provide this assistance and on names the PACE What is SQL
referred the matter to the PACE. flagged in their loan Waterfall Matching?
forgiveness system Using different available data
elements to match across data
Solution and the local
sources from very high confidence
We obtained recipient data from the housing housing authority matches (e.g., exact name and
authority and conducted analysis with public is now able to use address matches) to lower confidence
USASpending data, non-public PPP/EIDL data, this information in matches (e.g., fuzzy name
matches) to maximize the
and other data sources using a Structured Query their annual income number of matches.
Language (SQL) waterfall matching process. verification process.
Matches were made on name, address, emails,
phone numbers, bank accounts, and social security
numbers. With this technique, the PACE’s data
scientists ultimately found that approximately 10
percent of participants may have obtained PPP
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Hotline Complaint Risk Model Case Study
Background
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized SBA to lend more than $1 trillion to small
business entities through the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs—an
enormous sum that fraudsters viewed as an opportunity. In the year prior to the pandemic, the SBA OIG’s
hotline, staffed by two full-time employees, received 800 complaints. In the year following the pandemic,
hotline complaints surged to more than 100,000.
Business Challenge SBA OIG Hotline
The volume of hotline
complaints exceeded SBA Lending
2 Full-time SBA Employees
OIG’s capacity and placed
the OIG at risk of missing
$1T
actionable fraud complaints. 2020 2021
800 Complaints 100,000+ Complaints
Solution
PACE data scientists
collected SBA hotline data
sets and loaded the data
into a SQL database. They
then enriched this data with
third-party data sources and
extracted information from
the hotline narratives using
natural language processing
techniques. In consultation
with SBA OIG, the PACE
team identified risks and
developed risk scores to
identify the highest risk
hotline fraud complaints.
Results
SBA OIG has incorporated
the Hotline Complaint
Risk Model into its normal
business operations and
uses it to triage hotline
complaints and prioritize
investigations.
=100
Complaints
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Predictive Risk Model Case Study
Background
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 appropriated an estimated $94 billion to the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) new Special Financial Assistance Program (SFA) for financially troubled multi-
employer pension plan applicants.
Business Challenge PACE Built Predictive Risk Model Created
Given the application approval timeframe of
120 days and third-party risks associated with
ARP rules—specifically that the legislation does not
require the PBGC to directly calculate SFA payments,
only to review them for reasonableness—PBGC
OIG sought the PACE’s assistance in determining
whether a plan should be eligible for financial
assistance and how much funding it should receive.
Solution
In four months, PACE data scientists built a risk
model on the secure Microsoft Azure Cloud using
Power BI visualization tools.
Leveraging analytic techniques like outlier detection
and regression to detect plan attributes that are
“out of the norm” when compared to historic trends,
PACE data scientists developed a predictive risk
model that uses past data and pattern discovery
techniques to highlight anomalous behaviors in
incoming SFA applications.
Results
According to the PBGC Inspector General,
Nicholas J. Novak:
“ [We] can now identify potential high risk or fraudulent applications
as they come in. This will greatly improve efficiency. In the short
run, the model will mostly be used to identify questionable SFA
applications and to retrieve historical Form 5500 information. In
the long run, the model [will help us] identify potential issues for
plans that received SFA.
”
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Recipient Reporting Risk Model Case Study
Background
PACE data scientists assisted the Department of Treasury (Treasury) OIG on a
project involving the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). Under the CRF program, What is SQL
about 960 prime recipients received $150 billion directly from the federal Ensemble Technique?
government. These prime recipients paid some of the money they
Ensemble methods are techniques
received to sub-recipients. that aim at improving the accuracy of
results in models by combining multiple
Business Challenge Solution models instead of using a single model.
The combined models increase
Given the large number of primes and sub- PACE data
the accuracy of the results
recipients—about 78,000 in all—advanced data scientists significantly.
analytics techniques were essential for streamlining developed a
and elevating Treasury’s review process. risk scoring model
to prioritize the risk
associated with prime and sub-recipient entities
receiving CRF funds using an ensemble technique
Coronavirus Relief Fund
(e.g., rule based, anomaly detection) and
incorporated both CRF data and various third-party
datasets. The risk model incorporates 27 entity-
based or transaction-based risk indicators, and
calculates four different risk scores (risk indicator
score, risk amount score, sub propagation score,
and a final composite risk score calculated using the
first three scores) to help prioritize reviews.
Results
The CRF Risk Model dashboard is now available
for 65 Treasury OIG users. The Power-BI dashboard
provides clear insights with easy-to-navigate
summary and detailed pages. Users are also able
to export data for desk reviews. As of April 2022,
Treasury OIG has opened 31 new desk reviews using
the insights from the CRF Risk Model dashboard.
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Goal Three–Prevent and Detect Fraud,
Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement
Hold Wrongdoers Accountable
PRAC-Investigative Efforts
The PRAC’s Fraud Task Force serves as a resource
for the IG community by surging investigative
resources into areas with the greatest need. We In December 2021, our investigative collaboration led to
have 43 agents from 13 OIGs who have been two indictments:
detailed to work on Task Force cases. These agents • In the first, out of the Southern District of New York,
are located around the country and are working a recidivist fraudster and his co-conspirator were
cases that would otherwise go unaddressed due to charged with scheming to fraudulently obtain $7
the scale of the pandemic fraud. million from PPP and the EIDL program.
• In the second, a woman in Baltimore allegedly tried to
The idea behind our Task Force is to harness the fraudulently obtain more than $1.6 million from EIDL
expertise of the oversight community and attack and PPP in the names of multiple businesses.
this problem with every tool we have—criminal, civil,
forfeitures of money and property, and suspensions
and debarments. Our PRAC Fraud Task Force works
closely with other entities to combat pandemic
PRAC-Issued Report
fraud such as the Department of Justice (DOJ)
COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The PACE To determine the effectiveness of SBA’s fraud controls
provides investigative support to the Task Force, for our January 21, 2022 report Small Business
flagging anomalies or potential leads in pandemic Administration Paycheck Protection Program Phase
relief data. III Fraud Controls, we looked at 66 prior prosecutions
by DOJ that involved PPP fraud in 2020 to assess the
impact these antifraud controls would have had on
Mitigate Major Risks those schemes had they been in place at that time.
That Cut Across Program We found that while the new controls improved the
SBA’s ability to detect fraud schemes, the controls
Boundaries would not have detected some of the fraud in the
prior 66 cases. Further, we found that some of the
The PRAC works with our members to identify same fraud schemes are going undetected despite the
emerging fraud risks created by the pandemic. additional controls.
For instance, for an October 2021 report we
We concluded that the SBA’s updated controls for PPP
partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and
would have significantly benefited from a formal fraud
Urban Development (HUD) OIG to document fraud
risk assessment before the program re-opened in
schemes. We provided recommendations to HUD
January 2021.
on how to strengthen antifraud controls for two of
its programs, and systemically prevent these fraud Read more in our full report.
schemes—and others—from occurring.
Highlights Background Accomplishments Accountability Reports Appendices
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Additionally, we issued a report entitled Small issues with pandemic relief data and opportunities
Business Administration Paycheck Protection to enhance payment integrity. For example, we
Program Phase III Fraud Controls that examined reviewed SBA’s COVID-19 EIDL program before the
fraud controls the SBA added to the PPP in January loan threshold was increased to $2 million. That
2021. Some of these controls were later used by review resulted in the addition of new controls,
the SBA to administer the Restaurant Revitalization including safeguards to detect and handle
Fund in May 2021. suspicious IP addresses, program eligibility checks,
and other preventative measures.
We work closely with the Office of Management
& Budget (OMB), the American Rescue Plan
implementation team, and partner IGs to address
With the American Rescue Plan Act, the Biden administration established a dedicated implementation
team to help coordinate the various programs the Act created or funded. Over the past year, we have
participated in dozens of “Gold Standard” meetings with this team, where agency officials present their
implementation plans for programs to their agency’s IG, the PRAC, the American Rescue Plan
implementation team, and OMB officials.
The Gold Standard meetings have raised the bar on coordinated oversight by enabling agency officials to
fine-tune pandemic relief programs before they launch.
Goal Four–Ensure Effective and
Efficient PRAC Operations
Fulfill Statutory Responsibilities
During this reporting period, PRAC Chair Michael incorporate lessons learned from previous rounds of
Horowitz spoke extensively about the PRAC’s COVID-19 stimulus—such as those discussed in our
efforts to help oversee the coronavirus response. September 2021 report.
For example, on March 17 he testified before the
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Further, Chair Horowitz testified that the PRAC’s
Governmental Affairs about the PRAC’s ongoing efforts could be enhanced by the reforms outlined in
oversight work, achievements over its first two years, the Administrative False Claims Act of 2021, which
and the collaborative model it is building to provide would raise the jurisdictional limit for administrative
a legacy for effective, coordinated government recoveries of ‘smaller’ false or fraudulent claims
oversight during and after the pandemic. against the government from $150,000 to
$1 million. This change would extend the PRAC’s
Chair Horowitz also highlighted results the and the Inspector General community’s ability to
PRAC achieved though discussions with the use this fraud-fighting tool to recover pandemic-
Administration and reiterated the imperative that related funds for taxpayers.
executive departments and agencies do more to
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Build a Diverse Team of Innovative Thought Leaders
What started in March 2020 as a subcommittee candidates in the private sector, academia, and
within CIGIE with few employees has grown to government. While organizationally we operate
a nationally distributed workforce of 46 staff around three functional business lines—Oversight
members spread across five time zones. Congress & Accountability, Outreach & Engagement, and
gave the PRAC direct hiring authority in the CARES Transparency—we added teamwork across the
Act to expedite our recruiting process, enabling organization as one of our key performance
us to continue recruiting from a deep pool of indicators by which we measure employee success.
Supporting the Independent Oversight of Inspectors General
The PRAC is mindful of the complexity of the federal effective oversight methods for those programs. This
programs involved in the pandemic response and expertise, experience, credibility, and institutional
the need for deep programmatic expertise in these knowledge is critical to fulfilling the PRAC’s mission.
programs to ensure efficient and effective auditing Accordingly, the PRAC relies on the existing expertise
and review. Inspectors General have specialized and experience of individual agency IGs while
expertise and institutional knowledge regarding the respecting their autonomy to conduct their own
programs of their respective agencies and the most audits or investigations.
Holding Wrongdoers Accountable
Through Investigations
A key role of OIGs is to support law
enforcement in pursuing fraud investigations
and criminal enforcement. A total of 20 OIGs
publicly reported arrests/indictments and/or
convictions from October 1, 2021, through
March 31, 2022, related to the federal
government’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
The following section provides the total
number of accountability actions organized
by agency and highlights cases categorized
by criminal activity.
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Percentage of Cases by Program
(October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022)
Program Area Percentage of Cases by Program
Paycheck Protection Program 34%
Pandemic Unemployment 29%
Economic Injury Disaster Loans 24%
Health & Safety (Vaccination, Testing, PPE, Bio) 4%
Other (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, Price
4%
Gouging, Economic Impact Payments)
Source: Assembled by the PRAC from DOJ RSS feed.
Note: The percentages above credit all agencies involved in a single case in the individual totals. Combined totals only
count unique totals; therefore, the total count will not equal the total of each OIG’s statistics.
Table 2. Percentage of Cases by Program
Investigative Results
(October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022)
Office of Inspector General Arrests/Indictments Convictions
Amtrak 1 0
Defense Criminal Investigative Service 7 6
Department of Agriculture 0 2
Department of Education 2 2
Department of Health and Human Services 34 13
Department of Homeland Security 31 11
Department of Housing and Urban Development 0 1
Department of Justice 2 0
Department of Labor 203 91
Department of the Treasury 1 0
Department of Veterans Affairs 1 1
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 86 28
Federal Housing Finance Agency 37 10
Federal Reserve Board 65 20
Small Business Administration 162 85
Social Security Administration 10 4
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery 6 1
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 91 39
U.S. Agency for International Development 0 1
U.S. Postal Service 6 3
Source: Assembled by the PRAC from Department of Justice RSS feed
Note: Investigative work often involves several law enforcement agencies working on the same case. OIGs may conduct
cases with other OIGs, other Federal law enforcement agencies, and State and local law enforcement entities. The counts
above credit all OIGs involved in the case and do not represent unique cases.
Table 3. Investigative Results
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Paycheck Protection Program In each PPP loan application, false representations
included the average monthly payroll and the
and Economic Injury Disaster number of employees working for the company.
Fabricated IRS records, false bank statements,
Loan Case Highlights and fictitious payroll reports were also submitted in
connection with those applications. The PPP loan
Amtrak OIG proceeds received were not used for authorized PPP
business expenses.
Amtrak Employee Charged with CARES Act
Fraud and Stealing Government Funds
Federal Reserve Board OIG
An Amtrak employee was charged with making false Owner of Information Technology Services
statements and stealing government funds related Company Fraudulently Sought More than
to the CARES Act. According to court documents, the $13 Million in SBA PPP Loans
defendant made false statements to SBA about the
purpose of pandemic-related relief loans, including PPP A federal grand jury convicted the defendant in
from which he received approximately $89,000. The February 2022 for filing fraudulent loan applications
defendant also applied for and received unemployment seeking more than $13 million in forgivable PPP
benefits through the Louisiana Workforce Commission loans. The defendant submitted six fraudulent
despite being fully employed by Amtrak. PPP loan applications on behalf of his company to
four different SBA-approved lenders. In each loan
Federal Housing Finance application, the defendant misrepresented the
number of employees and payroll expenses he had.
Agency OIG The defendant also submitted fraudulent IRS tax
forms in support of his applications. The evidence at
Business Owner Sentenced in Connection with
trial showed his company was a startup that lacked
Obtaining More Than $6 Million in COVID Relief
U.S.-based payroll and U.S.-based employees. As
Fraud Scheme, Georgia
a result of his scheme, the defendant obtained a
$2 million PPP loan. The government recovered
A business owner was sentenced to 41 months in
approximately $1.97 million of the loan funds.
prison, five years supervised release, and ordered to
pay over $7 million in restitution and more than $2
million in forfeiture for a fraud scheme resulting in Federal Deposit Insurance
more than $6 million in PPP loans being disbursed.
The defendant previously pleaded guilty to bank
Corporation OIG
fraud. Man Convicted for $27 Million PPP
Fraud Scheme
The defendant submitted six fraudulent PPP loan
applications for business entities the defendant According to court documents and evidence
owned or controlled seeking over $7.9 million in presented at trial, the defendant submitted 27 PPP
total. Over $6 million was disbursed and $2.1 loan applications to four banks between April and
million of the fraudulent proceeds was seized from June 2020 on behalf of eight companies solely
the defendant. owned by the defendant in applications seeking a
total of $27 million in PPP loans. In his fraudulent
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applications, the defendant claimed that each buy cryptocurrency and stocks, to cover personal
company had 100 employees and average monthly expenses, and to withdraw cash.
payroll of $400,000. Evidence also showed that the
defendant submitted IRS documents falsely stating
that each of the companies had an annual payroll
Small Business
of $4.8 million. Administration OIG
Four More Charged in $35 Million COVID-19
In a single day, the defendant withdrew Relief Fraud Scheme
$248,000 of fraudulently obtained PPP funds
in cashier’s checks and deposited them into A federal grand jury in Houston returned a
another bank account that he controlled. superseding indictment against four additional
individuals involving more than 80 false and
fraudulent PPP loan applications. The group
allegedly falsified the number of employees and
Based on these fraudulent loan applications, three
monthly payroll expenses of their respective
of the defendant’s companies were able to obtain
businesses. In total, the defendants’ sought
$3 million in PPP funds. He used the funds for
over $35 million in PPP loans and obtained
personal expenses, cash withdrawals, payments on
approximately $18 million, according to the charges.
his personal credit cards, transfers to other personal
and business accounts he controlled, and renting an
The superseding indictment further alleges that
oceanfront apartment in Santa Monica.
the group laundered a portion of the fraudulent
loan proceeds by writing checks from companies
The defendant was convicted of bank fraud, false
that received PPP loans to fake employees who, in
statements to a financial institution, and money
turn, cashed more than over 1,100 fake paychecks
laundering.
totaling more than $3 million.
U.S. Department of Justice OIG Social Security
Recidivist Fraudster and Co-Conspirator
Charged in Covid-19 Relief Loan, Identity Theft,
Administration OIG
And Money Laundering Scheme New York and Florida Resident Admits to
$6.8 Million PPP Fraud Scheme
A recidivist fraudster and his co-conspirator were
charged with scheming to fraudulently obtain The defendant admitted his role in a scheme to
$7.5 million from PPP and the EIDL program. The fraudulently obtain PPP loans totaling over $6.8
conspirators used stolen identities to claim that million from April 2020 through March 2021, in
they had full control of a number of companies, which he submitted 21 fraudulent applications to
which they purported employed more than 200 13 lenders on behalf of nine purported businesses
people and paid more than $3.2 million in monthly that the defendant controlled.
wages. In reality, the conspirators did not operate
these companies. They attempted to obtain more The defendant’s fraudulent PPP applications
than $7.5 million in PPP and EIDL program funds contained falsified information to the lenders,
and successfully obtained more than $1 million including the number of employees, the federal
through their scheme. They used the funds to tax returns for his purported businesses, and
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payroll documentation. The defendant obtained Treasury Inspector General for
approximately $4.6 million in PPP funds, which he
transferred to brokerage accounts. Tax Administration
22 People Charged in Connection with a
Special IG for Pandemic Multimillion Dollar PPP Fraud Scheme
Recovery (SIGPR) Twenty-two individuals, residing across the
Oklahoma Woman Pleads Guilty to CARES Act United States, have been charged with wire fraud
Main Street Lending Program Fraud conspiracy and other related charges in connection
with a fraudulent scheme to obtain $3,899,377
A woman in Oklahoma pleaded guilty to bank fraud in PPP.
and money laundering related to a loan obtained
through the Main Street Lending Program, a Two of the conspirators in the scheme allegedly
lending facility established by the Federal Reserve submitted or helped submit PPP loan applications
Board and supported with funding authorized by on behalf of 22 businesses. For their work on the
CARES Act. PPP loan applications, the conspirators allegedly
received a percentage of the funded loan amount
The woman obtained a loan and executed a loan as a “success fee” from each purported business
agreement while falsely representing that she owner. The business owners, in turn, allegedly
would use the funds for working capital and payroll communicated the loan amount they wanted to
only. She also falsely represented she would not receive, submitted loan applications with fake
make financial distributions to herself as the owner supporting documents the conspirators created,
of her company. Instead, she allegedly laundered and paid them a percentage of the funded loan
the loan proceeds by paying for construction of her amount.
personal home. Other loan proceeds were used to
purchase a luxury SUV for her personal use. SIGPR
conducted this investigation jointly with the Office
Pandemic Unemployment
of Inspector General for the Board of Governors Case Highlights
of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection.
Department of Homeland
Security OIG
Virginia Inmate Sentenced for Role in
Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Scheme
A Virginia inmate was sentenced to 57 months in
prison for his involvement in a scheme to obtain
pandemic-related unemployment benefits by using
the personally identifiable information of more than
30 other inmates.
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The inmate and his co-conspirators, including the be filed in other people’s names, resulting in nearly
prisoners whose information was used for the $4.3 million in fraud. Between April and October
unemployment applications, shared the proceeds 2020, the employee filed and caused the filing of
of the crimes, which amounted to over $330,000. UI benefit claims asserting claimants were self-
Although the conspirators initially obtained employed independent contractors, often identifying
$436,834, the Virginia Employment Commission them as cake decorators or event attendants who
was able to reclaim some of the disbursed funds were out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
after discovering the fraud. The defendant obtained many of the names, Social
Security numbers, and other identifying information
Department of Labor OIG through her prior work as a tax preparer. This was a
joint investigation with the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection
State Contractor Sentenced in $3 Million Service, Homeland Security Investigations, California
Unemployment Fraud Scheme Employment Development Department, U.S. Secret
Service, and Social Security Administration-Office of
The defendant was sentenced to 58 months in Inspector General.
federal prison after pleading guilty for her role in a
multi-million-dollar unemployment insurance fraud
scheme aimed at defrauding the State of Michigan
United States Postal Service
and the Federal Government. OIG
Virginia Postal Employee Convicted of
According to court records, the defendant was
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud
a contract employee for the State of Michigan
Unemployment Insurance Agency. Her duties
A maintenance mechanic from Richmond, VA was
included reviewing, processing, and verifying the
convicted of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
legitimacy of unemployment insurance claims.
fraud for receiving over $15,000 in benefits to which
In exchange for processing fraudulent claims—
they were not entitled. The investigation revealed
including those filed with stolen identities—the
the employee lied on the application documents
defendant accepted bribes.
and was in fact actively employed by the United
States Postal Service. The employee pled guilty to
In total, the defendant used her insider access
Theft of Public Money, and was sentenced to 1-year
to fraudulently release payment on over 700
probation, as well as $15,950 in restitution.
claims. As part of her sentence, the defendant
had to pay restitution to Michigan in the amount
of $3,793,186. Department of Housing and
One-Time State Employee Sentenced to Urban Development OIG
More than 5 Years in Prison for Fraudulently Woman Previously Convicted in Fraud Scheme
Obtaining Nearly $4.3 Million in COVID Relief Admits to Defrauding the Federal Housing
Funds Administration, Business and Unemployment
COVID Relief Programs
A former California Employment Development
Department employee was sentenced to 63 months The defendant admitted in federal court that she
in prison for causing nearly 200 fraudulent pandemic- provided false information to a mortgage lender
related unemployment insurance benefit claims to when applying for a Federal Housing Administration-
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backed mortgage, and that she fraudulently applied
for EIDL and unemployment insurance benefits.
Other Case Highlights
In addition, the defendant failed to disclose that
she was on federal supervised release at the time U.S. Department of Education
of the charged fraudulent activities and subject to
a $385,533 federal restitution order. In total, the
OIG
defendant received over $40,000 in COVID relief Two Louisiana College Students Pled Guilty
benefits to which she was not entitled. Additionally, to Identity Theft Associated with the HEERF
the defendant also admitted that she submitted a Program
fraudulent EIDL loan application claiming that she
was an independent contractor whose business had Two Louisiana College students pled guilty
been impacted bu the pandemic. to charges of identity theft in a conspiracy to
fraudulently get coronavirus Higher Education
Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) aid for their own
Health Care/Medicare Fraud use. The two and others obtained the student
identification numbers and passwords of nine
Case Highlights students and, without authority, accessed the
school’s student portal where they applied for
Department of Health and HEERF grants in the names of those students and
directed the grant payments to bank accounts
Human Services (HHS) OIG controlled by members of the conspiracy.
Lab Owner Pleads Guilty to $6.9 Million
Genetic Testing & COVID-19 Testing Fraud U.S. Agency for International
Scheme
Development (USAID) OIG
The defendant pleaded guilty in the Southern Florida Man Charged with Stealing Ventilators
District of Florida to a $6.9 million conspiracy to Intended for Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients in
defraud Medicare by paying kickbacks and bribes El Salvador Arrested in Texas
to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary
lab tests that were then billed to Medicare. The In February 2022, two defendants were sentenced
defendant exploited the COVID-19 pandemic by to 41 months each for stealing 192 medical
bundling COVID-19 testing with other forms of ventilators worth approximately $3 million in
testing that patients did not need, including genetic Southern Florida. The ventilators were owned by the
testing and tests for rare respiratory pathogens. United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and were bound for a COVID-19 intensive
In total, the defendant submitted over $6.9 million care facility in El Salvador as part of USAID’s global
in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for health supply chain contract. USAID OIG’s joint
these medically unnecessary tests. The defendant investigation with the FBI and local law enforcement
pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit led to the recovery of 191 of the stolen ventilators.
health care fraud.
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Veterans Affairs OIG U.S. Department of Agriculture
Former Biloxi, VA Employee Sentenced to
OIG
Prison for Stealing VA Property Individual Sentenced to 36 Months of
Probation and Ordered to Pay More Than
The defendant was sentenced to serve 12 months $76,000 in Restitution for Theft of
in federal prison for stealing government property Government Funds
and was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and
$23,584 in restitution to the VA. USDA OIG was alerted by a Farm Service Agency
office in Louisiana that an individual allegedly
The defendant stole personal protective equipment, submitted false documentation for assistance
electronics, and medical equipment while working under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
as the Assistant Chief of Supply Chain Management A subsequent investigation revealed that the
for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. individual falsely claimed to have owned 1,046 head
Starting in 2019 and continuing to December of cattle, although the individual had never owned
2020, the defendant stole items belonging to the more than 10 head of cattle. The individual also
VA and resold them to local pawn stores and on his submitted fictitious receipts to support the false
personal eBay account. In total, the defendant made number resulting in the individual receiving funding
more than $50,000 selling the stolen N-95 masks to which they were not entitled.
and over $9,000 selling stolen iPads and iPhones.
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Key Insights Through Oversight
Reports
From October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, and remote program oversight, in particular—
29 Offices of Inspectors General issued 79 oversight includes the use of surveys to gauge the overall
reports related to the Federal Government’s effectiveness of program implementation.
COVID-19 pandemic response, and these reports
identified $9.8 billion in monetary findings (e.g., During this reporting period, the PRAC expanded
questioned costs or funds put to better use).1 OIGs its coordination activities to incorporate oversight
also made 184 recommendations to improve the work by State Auditors, as exemplified in our capping
federal government’s response to the pandemic, report on the pandemic unemployment insurance.
such as improving internal controls and providing
more oversight of recipients.
Key Insight 1: Increased
See the following table on the following page for Focus on Fraud Controls
more information about the reports issued by our
OIG partners. For a complete list of all oversight and Managing Risk
reports issued, see Appendix B on page 29.
Federal pandemic programs were particularly
susceptible to fraud. As such, OIGs have worked
As we will discuss in the following pages, these to evaluate how federal agencies have addressed
federal oversight products provided key insights on: fraud and how the lessons learned from the
pandemic can be applied to future fraud risk
1. Increasing Fraud Controls and Managing Risk,
frameworks. OIGs have found that federal agencies
2. How Incomplete Data Can Impact Agency could have improved overall fraud risk management
Leadership Decision-Making, and controls for community development programs,
pension benefit programs, and small business loan
3. Improving Service Performance and Reform, programs. In addition, OIGs have used data analytic
and techniques to help identify fraud and improve its
oversight activities in this area.
4. Assessing Efforts to Use and Expand Remote
Work Capabilities.
For example, HUD OIG found that the Office of
We have also observed that OIGs are increasingly Community Planning and Development had not
directing their focus to building upon previous completed its own fraud risk assessment or
pandemic oversight work. Indeed, as pandemic maintained an inventory of fraud risks for the
programs mature, OIGs have started establishing Community Development Block Grant program and
best practices and identifying lessons learned that Emergency Solutions Grant program—the two HUD
can apply broadly to future situations as well. For programs that received the majority of the agency’s
instance, one best practice for additional oversight— CARES Act funding. As part of its final report, HUD
1 These oversight reports include all reports, memorandums, and advisories issued by the OIGs related to the COVID 19 response funding and
programs.
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Oversight Reports from October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022
Total Total Total Monetary
Office of Inspector General Reports Recommendations Findingsa
U.S. Agency for International Development 1
U.S. Architect of the Capitol 2 $3,600,000
Department of Agriculture 2
Department of Defense 4 8
Department of Education 3 6
Department of Health and Human Services 5
Department of Homeland Security 5 11
Department of Housing and Urban Development 6 14 $5,430,000,000
Department of the Interior 3 26 $231,084
Department of Justice 2 2
Department of Labor 5 24
Department of the Treasury 3 3 $500,000
Department of Transportation 1
Department of Veterans Affairs 6 22 $3,600,000
Environmental Protection Agency 1 3
U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency 1
General Services Administration 2
Federal Reserve Board & Consumer Financial
1 2
Protection Bureau
U.S. National Credit Union Administration 1
National Science Foundation 1 3
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 4 5
U.S. Peace Corps 1
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 1
Railroad Retirement Board 2 14 $310,359
Small Business Administration 4 10 $4,377,243,774
Social Security Administration 2
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery 4
Tennessee Valley Authority 1 1
U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax
5 30
Administration
Totals 79 184 $9,815,485,217
a
“Monetary findings” include all questioned costs and funds put to better use identified by each OIG.
Table 4. Oversight Reports from October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022
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OIG, in coordination with the PRAC, developed a recipients. SBA OIG recommended that SBA use the
fraud risk inventory and identified five overall factors “batch match” or “continuous monitoring” functions
that contribute to the fraud risk for CARES Act funds. available through the Do Not Pay portal to identify
These included increased funding and volume of potentially ineligible applicants before disbursing
payments, the pandemic environment, CARES Act program funds in the future.
provisions, decentralized processes, and reliance on
self-certification.
Key Insight 2: Incomplete
In addition, the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation (PBGC) OIG also recognized the
Data Can Hinder Agency
inherent change in fraud risk for the Special Finance Leadership Decision-Making
Assistance program, which received ARP funding.
The source of funding, size of payments, timing Incomplete and inaccurate data can pose
of responding to applications, and the intended significant threats to an agency’s mission and
time horizon of the payments created a different the implementation of its program. It can also
risk context than other programs administered by limit an OIG’s ability to identify negative effects
PBGC. As a result, PBGC OIG identified several risk or possible solutions. One example includes
categories for PBGC to consider when assessing inconsistent and unreliable data used for COVID-19
existing processes within the next risk context. vaccine distribution and tracking and highlights
the importance of having reliable data reporting to
Further, the PRAC identified fraud risks within PPP enhance agency leadership decisions. For example,
by analyzing fraud schemes prosecuted by the the Department of Defense (DoD) intended to
DOJ. The PRAC identified five common PPP fraud prioritize vaccines for individuals with positions
schemes: self-certification misrepresentation, critical to national defense and those at highest
fake documents, multiple applications, fictitious risk for developing severe illness. However, DoD
business/operating history, identify theft/synthetic OIG found that officials may not have effectively
identities. The PRAC also highlighted that the distributed or administered COVID-19 vaccines
internal controls in place to mitigate fraud in the to the DoD workforce because the agency used
final round of the program might still have missed unreliable vaccine-eligible population data.
instances of these fraud types. Similarly, the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) OIG identified that while the Veterans Health
Several OIGs have also applied additional analytics Administration quickly modified existing systems
techniques to effectively make conclusions and and developed new tools to track supply, dosage,
improve oversight by identifying potential fraud. In and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to veterans
November 2021, SBA OIG issued a Management and employees, this system hosted inconsistent
Advisory detailing its collaboration with the and inaccurate data due to inadequate validation
Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay Business and user errors. The incomplete data directly
Center to determine if the SBA provided Economic affected managers’ ability to schedule and prioritize
Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to ineligible recipients COVID-19 vaccinations.
from March to November 2020. As a result of the
data matching efforts with the Do Not Pay Business Conversely, increased data visibility can bolster
Center, SBA OIG identified that over $3.1 billion transparency, improve data accuracy, and ultimately
in COVID-19 EIDL and $550 million in emergency improve accountability. For example, the Board
EIDL grants were distributed to potentially ineligible of Governors of the Federal Reserve System OIG
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identified in a February 2022 report that not
only did the Board meet their 30-day reporting Insights Through Surveys
requirements to Congress and provide complete
and materially accurate data, it also voluntarily In November 2020, we issued the Agile Products
provided additional transaction-specific data for Toolkit to encourage OIGs to use surveys as a way
some lender programs that exceeded statutory of obtaining information quickly and remotely. Since then,
reporting requirements, allowing for additional data OIGs have expanded their efforts to use surveys and, within
this reporting period, several OIGs employed the use of
transparency for the program.
surveys in their oversight products. These surveys allowed
for on-the-ground insights into government operations, the
Key Insight 3: Improving impact of pandemic programs on intended beneficiaries, and
how the pandemic posed unique challenges to the public.
Customer Service Insights like these are critical to informing government
operations and program design—and underscore the value of
Performance and Reform surveys as an oversight mechanism, now and in the future.
Customer service has been a significant area of HUD OIG completed two surveys to obtain insights about
focus since the onset of the pandemic due to the public housing agencies’ experiences with the administration
high number of program functions and service of CARES Act funds, and insights about challenges Section
populations that have been significantly affected. 232 nursing homes faced during the pandemic. For example,
Some service-related issues, like staffing capacity nursing home respondents indicated that state and federal
guidance lacked consistency and required burdensome
for telephone calls, flexibility of telephone services
reporting, making it difficult to keep up with regulation changes.
to accommodate remote work, and managing
backlogs, have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
DOJ OIG used two surveys to obtain a better understanding
In December 2021, President Biden issued of telework experiences of DOJ’s litigating and adjudicating
Executive Order 10458 which directs federal personnel—distributing 9,909 surveys and receiving
agencies to focus on and improve its customer 4,286 responses (a 43% response rate). These surveys,
service to the American public. OIG reports can for example, identified that litigation attorney respondents
help offer insights into challenges agencies and immigration judge respondents had differing views on
faced in providing good customer service during preferred telework structures.
the pandemic, as well as opportunities moving
forward post-pandemic. Opportunities include SIGPR used a survey to obtain responses from lenders and
recommendations related to improving essential borrowers about the Main Street Lending Program. The survey
customer service performance like collecting identified that a majority of respondents viewed the program
customer feedback, establishing service standards positively and as successful in enabling businesses to continue
operations during the pandemic, but also identified three
and performance measures, and comparing
common critiques about the program structure including the
customer service performance to similar federal
complexity of the program, restrictive eligibility requirements,
services and the private sector. and borrowers’ difficulty in finding participating lenders.
For example, IRS reported that as of November
20, 2021, it had 7.8 million cases in its Accounts
Management inventory, with 56.8% of the inventory
remaining unprocessed for over 45 days. The
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
(TIGTA) found that increasing call volumes reduced
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resources to resolve Account Management their campuses, were unprepared to transition
inventories because many Accounts Management to remote learning. While Job Corps did develop
employees split their time between working cases innovative alternatives for in-person instruction,
and answering IRS’ toll-free telephone calls. TIGTA Job Corps did not have the infrastructure in place
made 19 recommendations to better utilize existing to deliver all their education programs in a remote
capacity, increase resources to process the backlog capacity and delayed students’ progress. HHS OIG
inventory, and prioritize tools that reduced the found telehealth was critical for providing services
volume of tax account correspondence by enabling to Medicare beneficiaries during the first year of the
taxpayers to directly upload documents into pandemic. Twenty-eight million beneficiaries used
Accounts Management’s inventory. telehealth services, or more than 2 in 5 Medicare
beneficiaries. Understanding the use of telehealth
Some OIGs also found that higher demand for during the first year of the pandemic can shed
remote service options and needed flexibilities light on how the temporary expansion of telehealth
to accommodate remote employees affected affected where and how beneficiaries accessed
customer service. For example, the Social Security their health care. The Centers for Medicare and
Administration (SSA) OIG found that the pandemic Medicaid Services (CMS) could use these findings to
impacted SSA telephone service performance due inform changes to the services that are allowed via
to limited in-person services and the agency shift telehealth on a permanent basis.
to provide a larger percentage of their services
over the telephone via field office numbers and
their national 800-number. SSA addressed 51 Key Insight 4: Using and
percent of its more than 151 million calls during
FY 2020 using employees or automated services.
Expanding Remote Work
That performance matched—and in some cases, Capabilities
exceeded—those at comparable federal service
call centers that year, and even some industry call At the start of the pandemic, the majority of the
centers. Even with high call center performance, federal workforce, and the services that these
SSA recorded 67.8 million abandoned calls due agencies provide, transitioned to a remote work
to wait times in FY 2020. Planned efforts by posture. While this transition initially sought to
SSA to address the challenges identified by SSA promote the health and safety of the federal
OIG include hiring additional call service staff, workforce and the American public, a number of
modifying its automated service operations to agencies have begun to expand their telework
improve customer experience, implementing a new capabilities. With this transition to a remote
centralized telephone system that will fully use its posture and longer-term expansion of telework
service capacity, and collecting most information on flexibilities, agencies faced additional cybersecurity
performance and customer experience. challenges. For example, TIGTA found that the IRS,
whose remote workforce increased from 26,000
OIGs also attempted to understand how the move to 60,700 between March and September 2020,
to a remote work posture impacted the service relied on existing software that the agency has had
that their parent agencies were delivering to the in place since 2004 under its Enterprise Remote
American public. For example, the United States Access Project along with the purchase of additional
Department of Labor (DOL) OIG found that the licenses and doubling its bandwidth capacity by the
Employment and Training Administration’s Job end of FY 2020. The IRS has also utilized two-factor
Corps, who educate roughly 29,000 students on authentication since 2005, which has been a key
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component of the agency’s access management were moved to a virtual setting due to the pandemic,
strategy during the pandemic. Additionally, TIGTA cost less and provided more opportunities for
found that IRS has continuous monitoring and diversity and inclusion when held virtually instead
network scanning which identifies vulnerabilities of in person. NSF OIG found that between April
and that these processes were not impacted by the 2020 and March 2021, NSF saved $13.5 million
increase in teleworking. Alternatively, the Tennessee in expenses for merit review panels compared to
Valley Authority (TVA) OIG found that the expansion the year prior, and NSF staff reported that remote
of remote access for TVA employees and contractors panels increased participation opportunities for
created several cybersecurity gaps even though individuals with small children, with disabilities, or
TVA had been consistent with cybersecurity remote who cannot travel. However, NSF has limited data
access best practices. In addition, the Railroad about the diversity of panelists due to low response
Retirement Board OIG found areas of improvement rates to requests for demographic information. The
for their parent agency due to internal control National Credit Union Administration OIG found
deficiencies in RRB’s deployment of mobile phones. that agency leadership communicated effectively
and took appropriate actions based on reliable
The oversight community has also been engaged information and expert guidance to protect the
in assessing the effectiveness of agency efforts health and safety of their staff as they transitioned
to return personnel back to an in-person setting, to an optional back in-person setting. The OIG noted
the benefits of continuing remote work, and the that the agency continues to evaluate transition
agency decisions about its work posture moving plans as the pandemic evolves.
forward. The National Science Foundation (NSF) OIG
assessed if the agency’s merit review panels, which
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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 27
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
Appendix A: Acronyms
ARP American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 OIG Office of Inspector General
CARES Act Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and OMB Office of Management and Budget
Economic Security Act
PACE Pandemic Analytics Center of
CIGIE Council of the Inspectors General Excellence
on Integrity and Efficiency
PBGC Pension Benefit Guaranty
CMS Centers for Medicare & Corporation
Medicaid Services
PPP Paycheck Protection Program
COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019
PRAC Pandemic Response Accountability
CRF Coronavirus Relief Fund Committee
DoD Department of Defense SBA Small Business Administration
DOJ Department of Justice SFA Special Financial Assistance
Program
DOL Department of Labor
SIGPR Special Inspector General for
EIDL Economic Injury Disaster Loan Pandemic Recovery
EPA Environmental Protection Agency SQL Structured Query Language
HEERF Higher Education Emergency SSA Social Security Administration
Relief Fund
Treasury Department of the Treasury
HHS Department of Health and
Human Services TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration
HUD Department of Housing and Urban
Development TVA Tennessee Valley Authority
IG Inspector General USAID U.S. Agency for International
Development
IRS Internal Revenue Service
VA Department of Veterans Affairs
NSF National Science Foundation
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OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
Appendix B: Pandemic-Related
Reports by Office of Inspector General
Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) issued a total Management Advisory Regarding Results from
of 79 reports between October 1, 2021, and March Research for Future Audits and Evaluations Related
31, 2022, related to the COVID-19 pandemic to the Effects of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus on DoD
response. The following information provides a list Operations, DODIG-2022-054, January 19, 2022
and summary of each of those reports.
U.S. Department of the Interior OIG
U.S. Agency for International Development OIG
Fulfillment of Purchase Card Orders, 2021-FIN-022,
COVID-19 Information Brief #4, October 28, 2021 January 19, 2022
U.S. Architect of the Capitol OIG Pandemic Purchase Card Use, 2020-FIN-73,
October 22, 2021
Effects of COVID-19 and the Events of January 6
Have Increased the Cannon House Office Building Pandemic-Related Contract Actions, 2021-FIN-010,
Renewal Project’s Contracts by $5.6 Million and October 13, 2021
Further Increases are Expected, OIG-AUD-2022-02,
March 28, 2022
U.S. Department of Education OIG
Architect of the Capitol Use of Enhanced Paid Leave Missouri’s Administration of the Governor’s
Authorities, March 15, 2022 Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant,
A20GA0018, February 10, 2022
U.S. Department of Agriculture OIG
The Department’s Implementation of CARES Act
USDA COVID-19 Funding Dashboard, 21-045-01, Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations,
October 28, 2021 I20DC0024, January 20, 2022
COVID-19—Oversight of the Emergency Food Review of State Plans for Use of Governor’s
Assistance Program—Interim Report, 27801-0001- Emergency Education Relief Funds, F20DC0028,
21(2), October 18, 2021 December 20, 2021
U.S. Department of Defense OIG U.S. Department of Health and Human
Audit of DoD Implementation of the DoD Services OIG
Coronavirus Disease–2019 Vaccine Distribution Telehealth Was Critical for Providing Services to
Plan, DODIG-2022-058, February 1, 2022 Medicare Beneficiaries During the First Year of the
COVID-19 Pandemic, OEI-02-20-00520, March 15,
2022
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OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
The Assistant Secretary for Administration Awarded U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
and Managed Five Sole Source Contracts for Development OIG
COVID-19 Testing in Accordance With Federal and Challenges Faced by Section 232 Nursing Homes
Contract Requirements, A-05-21-00014, January During the Pandemic, 2022-KC-0801, March
26, 2022 29, 2022
COVID-19 Tests Drove an Increase in Total Medicare HUD Did Not Always Comply With Its internal guide
Part B Spending on Lab Tests in 2020, While Use of When Transitioning Offices From Mandatory to
Non-COVID-19 Tests Decreased Significantly, Maximum Telework During the COVID-9 Pandemic,
OEI-09-21-00240, December 30, 2021 2022-CH-0002, February 15, 2022
Most Medicare Beneficiaries Received Telehealth FHA Borrowers Did Not Always Properly Receive
Services Only From Providers With Whom They Had COVID-19 Forbearances From Their Loan Servicers,
An Established Relationship, OEI-02-20-00521, 2022-KC-0001, February 15, 2022
October 18, 2021
Public Housing Agencies’ Experiences and
Changes Made to States’ Medicaid Programs Challenges Regarding the Administration of HUD’s
to Ensure Beneficiary Access to Prescriptions CARES Act Funds, 2022-CH-0801, November 16,
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, A-06-20-04007, 2021
October 13, 2021
Lessons Learned and Key Considerations From
U.S. Department of Homeland Security OIG Prior Audits and Evaluations of the CDBG Disaster
Recovery Program, 2022-FW-0801, November 2,
Management Alert – Reporting Suspected Fraud of
2021
Lost Wages Assistance, OIG-22-28, March 4, 2022
Fraud Risk Inventory for the CDBG and ESG CARES
CISA Should Validate Priority Telecommunications
Act Funds, 2022-FO-0801, October 12, 2021
Services Performance Data, OIG-22-15, January
12, 2022
U.S. Department of Justice OIG
Medical Processes and Communication Protocols Survey of DOJ Litigating Attorneys and Immigration
Need Improvement at Irwin County Detention Judges on Work Experiences During the COVID-19
Center, OIG-22-14, January 6, 2022 Pandemic, 20-015, December 20, 2021
FEMA Did Not Always Accurately Report COVID-19 Management Advisory Memorandum: Impact of
Contract Actions in the Federal Procurement Data the Failure to Conduct Formal Policy Negotiations
System, OIG-22-7, November 9, 2021 on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Implementation
of the FIRST STEP Act and Closure of Office of the
Continued Reliance on Manual Processing Slowed
Inspector General Recommendations, 22-007,
USCIS’ Benefits Delivery During the COVID-19
November 16, 2021
Pandemic, OIG-22-12, November 3, 2021
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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 30
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
U.S. Department of Labor OIG Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Relief
COVID-19: To Protect Mission Critical Workers, Programs: Audit of the Community Development
OSHA Could Leverage Inspection Collaboration Financial Institutions Fund’s Implementation of
Opportunities with External Federal Agencies, the CDFI Rapid Response Program, OIG-22-023,
19-22-003-10-105, March 31, 2022 December 21, 2021
COVID-19: Delays in Providing Disaster Relief U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs OIG
Jeopardize $366 Million Disaster Worker Grant
VA’s Compliance with the VA Transparency & Trust
Program, 19-22-002-03-391, January 28, 2022
Act of 2021, 22-00879-118, March 22, 2022
Management Advisory Comments Identified in an
Care in the Community Consult Management
Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements for
During the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Martinsburg
the Year Ended September 30, 2021, 22-22-004-
VA Medical Center in West Virginia, 21-01724-84,
13-001, December 20, 2021
February 16, 2022
FY 2021 Independent Auditor’s Report on the DOL
Audit of Community Care Consults during COVID-19,
Financial Statements, November 19, 2021
21-00497-46, January 19, 2022
COVID-19: Safety and Remote Learning Challenges
Systems and Tools Implemented to Track COVID-19
Continue for Job Corps, 19-22-001-03-370,
Vaccine Data, 21-02969-20, December 7, 2021
November 12, 2021
Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of Facilities’
U.S. Department of Transportation OIG COVID-19 Pandemic Readiness and Response in
FTA Does Not Effectively Assess Security Controls Veterans Integrated Service Networks 1 and 8, 21-
or Remediate Cybersecurity Weaknesses to Ensure 02969-20, November 18, 2021
the Proper Safeguards Are in Place To Protect
Deficiencies in Select Community Care Consult
Its Financial Management Systems, IT2022005,
(Stat) Processes During the COVID-19 Pandemic,
October 20, 2021
20-03437-26, November 10, 2021
U.S. Department of the Treasury OIG
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) OIG
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Relief
EPA Should Consistently Track Coronavirus
Programs: Audit of Treasury’s Implementation of the
Pandemic-Related Grant Flexibilities and Implement
Emergency Capital Investment Program, OIG-22-
Plan for Electronic Grant File Storage, 22-P-0018,
028, March 8, 2022
February 22, 2022
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma’s Use of Coronavirus
Relief Fund Payment, OIG-CA-22-006, December
28, 2021
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OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency OIG Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection
Oversight of Multifamily Borrowers’ Compliance with Program Phase III Fraud Controls, PRAC-2022-03,
CARES Act and Freddie Mac Tenant Protections and January 21, 2022
Freddie Mac’s Response to the Potential Financial
Key Insights: State Pandemic Unemployment
Impact of COVID-19, OIG-2022-003, March 24,
Insurance Programs, PRAC-2022-02, December 16,
2022
2021
U.S. General Services Administration OIG Increasing Transparency into COVID-19 Spending,
Management Alert: Inadequate Ventilation in GSA PRAC-2022-01, October 19, 2021
Headquarters Child Care Center, JE22-001, March
10, 2022 U.S. Peace Corps OIG
Final Report on the Peace Corps’ Compliance with
FAS Lacks Sufficient Controls to Monitor and
CARES Act Supplemental Funding Requirements,
Prohibit the Sale of Trade Agreements Act Non-
IG-22-02-A, November 23, 2021
Compliant Products in Support of the Government’s
COVID-19 Response, A2011018-1, January
21, 2022 U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation OIG
Risk Assessment of PBGC’s Implementation
U.S. Federal Reserve Board & Consumer of Special Financial Assistance, SR-2022-09,
Financial Protection Bureau OIG March 21, 2022
The Board Has Effective Processes to Collect,
Aggregate, Validate, and Report CARES Act Lending U.S. Railroad Retirement Board OIG
Program Data, 2022-FMIC-B-00, February 28, 2022
Railroad Retirement Board Did Not Implement
Sufficient Internal Controls in the Mobile Phones
U.S. National Credit Union Administration OIG Deployed as a Result of the Pandemic, 22-07,
March 17, 2022
Audit of the NCUA’s COVID-19 Work Posture, OIG-
21- 10, December 10, 2021
Management Information Report – Railroad
Retirement Board’s Actions in Response to
U.S. National Science Foundation OIG Pandemic Funding, 22-06, March 16, 2022
Remote Versus In-Person Merit Review Panels, 22-
6-003, January 20, 2022 U.S. Small Business Administration OIG
SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program Loan Review
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Processes, 22-09, February 28, 2022
Best Practices and Lessons Learned from The
SBA’s Oversight of the Grant Recipient’s
Administration Of Pandemic Related Unemployment
Implementation of the CARES Act Resource
Benefits Programs, PRAC-2022-04, February 16,
Partners Training Portal, 22-07, January 18, 2022
2022
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OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
COVID-19 EIDL Program Recipients on the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Department of Treasury’s Do Not Pay List, 22-06, Administration
November 30, 2021 Program and Organizational Changes Are Needed
to Address the Continued Inadequate Tax Account
SBA Emergency EIDL Grants to Sole Proprietors and
Assistance Provided to Taxpayers, 2022-46-027,
Independent Contractors, 22-01, October 7, 2021
March 18, 2022
U.S. Social Security Administration OIG American Rescue Plan Act: Assessment of
Processes to Identify and Address Improper Child
The Social Security Administration’s Telephone
and Dependent Care Credit Claims, 2022-47-023,
Service Performance, A-05-20-50999, December 1,
March 14, 2022
2021
Results of the 2021 Filing Season, 2022-40-024,
Comparing the SSA DDS’ Workload Statistics During
March 9, 2022
the COVID-19 Pandemic to Prior Years, A-01-21-
51038, December 1, 2021
Cybersecurity and Telework During the COVID 19
Pandemic, 2022-20-007, December 17, 2021
U.S. Special Inspector General for Pandemic
Recovery (SIGPR) The Taxpayer Advocate Service Assisted Thousands
of Taxpayers with CARES Act Issues but Faced
Independent Review of 4003(b) Loan Recipient’s
Challenges in Identifying and Tracking Applicable
Validation Memo – Alaska Airlines, Inc.,
Cases, 2022-16-002, October 20, 2021
SIGPR-A-22-003-3, March 29, 2022
Independent Review of 4003(b) Loan Recipient’s
Validation Memo – American Airlines, Inc.,
SIGPR-A-22-003-2, March 29, 2022
Independent Review of 4003(b) Loan Recipient’s
Validation Memo – Frontier Airlines, Inc.,
SIGPR-A-22-003-1, March 22, 2022
Main Street Lending Program Survey Results,
SIGPR-A-22001, January 27, 2022
U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority OIG
Remote Application and Desktop Virtualization,
2021-15804, January 11, 2022
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Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2021 - MARCH 31, 2022
Appendix C: Hotline Data
Since inception, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee received most of its hotline complaints
through its electronic complaint form. The PRAC’s hotline provides an avenue for concerned citizens to report
potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement related to the pandemic response, including the CARES
Act and other related legislation.
During the reporting period, we received 1,509 hotline communications, of which 314 were filed for
information or not actionable. The remaining 1,195 were deemed potentially actionable for fraud, waste,
abuse, or mismanagement. From these, the PRAC forwarded 1,277 allegations to 17 different Offices of
Inspectors General for review and1 appropriate action.2
1,509 1,277
Hotline Tips Allegations
1,195
Potential
Actions
314
Not
Actionable
2 The number of allegations referred is higher than the number of actionable communications because some communications may contain more
than one allegation.
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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 34
For more information:
Lisa Reijula
Associate Director of Outreach and Engagement, PRAC
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