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PRAC's Semiannual Report to Congress June 2025

Issuer
Government Accountability Office
Document type
Report
Date
2024-10-01

Report — PRAC's Semiannual Report to Congress June 2025, dated 2024-10-01, issued by Government Accountability Office.

Full text

P A N D E M I C  R E S P O N S E  A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y  C O M M I T T E E
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025

ii
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Message from the Chair
It is my privilege to present the Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) spring 2025
Semiannual Report to Congress. This report covers
the PRAC’s accomplishments from October 1, 2024
– March 31, 2025. During this reporting period,
we’ve continued to promote transparency and
coordinate oversight of taxpayer dollars through our
pandemic fraud investigations and recoveries as
well as our work to inform the public, congressional
stakeholders, and our partners how the government
can better prevent and detect fraud, waste, and
abuse in federal spending.
In March 2025, the Federal Accountability
Committee for Transparency (FACT) Act of 2025
was reported favorably and unanimously by the
House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform. The FACT Act of 2025 would maintain
the PRAC’s analytics center through December
31, 2026, and rename it the “Fraud Prevention
and Accountability Committee.” I thank the Chairs
and Ranking Members of the full Committee and
Government Operations Subcommittee for their
bipartisan leadership on this antifraud initiative that
will improve the integrity of federal programs. We
recognize and honor the legacy of the late Ranking
Member Gerry Connolly, whose commitment to
improving federal programs never wavered over
the course of his impressive congressional career.
We look forward to working with the Committee
and other members of Congress to advance,
and potentially expand on, this important reform
and ensure the Inspector General community
is equipped to both prevent and fight fraud with
advanced technology and data analytics.
Notable accomplishments from this reporting period
include:
• Our analytics center supported the PRAC Fraud
Task Force in a nearly $109 million pandemic
fraud investigation resulting in two guilty pleas.
• As of the publication of this report, the PRAC
has provided investigative support to more
than 49 federal law enforcement and Offices
of Inspectors General (OIGs) partners on over
1,100 pandemic-related investigations, with over
23,500 subjects and a potential fraud loss of
$2.43 billion.
• The issuance of Chapter Four of our Blueprint
for Enhanced Program Integrity, which highlights
best practices for developing a whole-of-
government approach for oversight entities to
prevent fraud and ensure federal programs are
operating effectively and efficiently.
• To date, the predictive risk model our data
scientists built for the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation OIG resulted in $215 million in total
recoveries.
Further, the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) maintains its estimate that establishing a
permanent analytics center to aid the oversight
community in identifying improper payments and
fraud could result in a billion dollars or more in
financial benefits annually. If the PRAC’s data
analytics center had been in place at the outset of
the pandemic in March 2020, we would have been
able to do critical data analysis before payments
were made to help prevent the billions of dollars
of pandemic relief funds that were wasted through
improper payments and fraud.
We submit this last Semiannual Report to Congress
at a crucial time in the lifespan of the PRAC.
With three months remaining until our sunset on
September 30, we urge Congress to maintain our

iii
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
data analytics center to assist agencies and the
oversight community in fraud prevention. I’m proud
of the work that the PRAC, with the support of
our partners, has done to advance transparency,
accountability, and program integrity in five years.
The time to act is now—the federal government
must apply and build on the lessons learned from
our pandemic oversight to ensure federal funding
goes to those it’s intended to help and better protect
taxpayer dollars from fraud, waste, and abuse.
The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz
Chair, PRAC
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice

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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Contents
Message from the Chair
ii
Highlights
1
Background
2
PRAC Accomplishments
3
Part One–Oversight Products
4
Part Two–Investigating Fraud
7
Part Three–Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) Successes
10
Part Four–Promoting Transparency Through Our Website
11
Part Five–PRAC Outreach
12
Insights Through Oversight Reports
14
Appendix A: Abbreviations and Acronyms
15
Appendix B: Hotline Data
16

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
1
Background
Accomplishments
Reports
Appendices
Highlights
$
$
Highlights
PRAC Initiatives
2
PRAC-led or -coordinated reports
with 10 Offices of Inspectors General
7
Investigations supported by
our data analytics center
7
PRAC speaking engagements
Oversight Reports
8
Offices of Inspectors General
145
Recommendations
43
Oversight reports
$727 Million
in monetary findings
PRAC Fraud Task Force
50+
Task Force Agents from
16 Offices of Inspectors General
$
8
Civil settlements
117
Subjects charged to date
57
Sentencings
$20 Million
in restitution to the government
101
Years of prison time

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
2
Highlights
Accomplishments
Reports
Appendices
Background
Background
Established in March 2020 by the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,
the PRAC is a Committee of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
(CIGIE). Established within the executive branch by
the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended,
CIGIE is an independent entity that includes the 73
statutorily created federal Inspectors General (IGs).
The CARES Act identifies IGs from nine agencies
as statutory members of the PRAC. The Chair can
designate additional IGs to serve on the Committee
from any agency that receives pandemic funds or is
involved in the federal government’s response to the
COVID pandemic. The IGs serving on the Committee
continue to perform their IG duties.
The PRAC is composed of 19 IGs (see PRAC
membership below). As of April 11, 2025, we
are staffed by a full-time Executive Director, 29
employees, 35 contractors, one fellow, and four
detailees, all distributed across several strategic
directorates. Our committee promotes transparency
and provides Congress and the public with objective,
reliable information at PandemicOversight.gov
about the $5 trillion in pandemic relief dollars.
We also work with IGs to recommend program
improvements, refer matters for criminal
investigations, and identify misspent funds for
recovery.
PRAC Membership
Department or Agency OIG
Department of Justice
U.S. Agency for International Development
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of the Interior
Department of Labor
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Reserve Board/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
National Science Foundation
Small Business Administration
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
U.S. Postal Service

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
3
Highlights
Reports
Appendices
PRAC Accomplishments
The PRAC was established to serve the American public by promoting transparency and facilitating
coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID pandemic response and associated spending. 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.
We released our Strategic Plan for 2020 through 2025 in July 2020. The plan identified four goals to carry
out our mission and vision:
• Promote coordinated, comprehensive oversight.
• Prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.
• Promote transparency.
• Ensure effective and efficient PRAC operations.
We present our key accomplishments during this reporting period that align with these goals.
Background
Accomplishments

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
4
Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Part One–Oversight Products
Our efforts this period included the publication of two oversight products.
Focus on Communities
To truly understand how the pandemic impacted people on the ground across the country, you have to get out
into communities—both big and small, rural, urban and suburban. In March 2024, we issued Pandemic Relief
Experiences: A Focus on Six Communities which summarized the observations of our coordinated oversight
work with 10 of our PRAC member OIGs examining how six communities used the emergency relief funds and
whether the federal aid helped the communities. Between October 2024 and March 2025, we issued individual
reports for two of the six locations that focused on the specific programs and subprograms that provided
funding in each locale.
Figure 1. Six Locations Selected for Review
Accomplishments

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
5
Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Marion County,
Georgia
Marion County was the fourth report
of six locations, and the second rural
county we visited to hear directly
from local program administrators,
government officials, and other
community members about their
experiences during the pandemic.
Marion County, located in Southern
Georgia, has a population of 7,449. The
county received $38.8 million across
27 federal pandemic relief programs
and subprograms over a period of
18 months to aid county government
officials, small business owners, and
residents. This report provides a closer
look at nine of the federal programs,
from six federal agencies, that aimed to
respond to and ease the effects of the
pandemic on the community.
Accomplishments
a U.S. Census Bureau data for counties and cities.
b Because individuals may be considered a member of more than one racial demographic,
the percentages may not equal 100 percent.
c Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data based on the rate of individuals who
received at least two doses of the vaccine. The vaccination rate represents the county-
wide rate. Data as of May 30, 2023.
d Data was obtained from the Marion County Health Department and represents totals for
Marion County as of February 28, 2022.
e U.S. Census Bureau. The poverty line varies depending on factors such as the year and
household size. Please see Poverty Thresholds for more information.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
White Earth Nation
Reservation in
Minnesota
White Earth Nation Reservation in
Minnesota was the fifth report of six
locations, and the second of two tribal
locations we visited. White Earth Nation
Reservation has a population of 9,991,
comprising approximately 1,300 square
miles, covering all of Mahnomen County
plus parts of Backer and Clearwater
Counties. The tribal location received
more than $278 million from 56
federal pandemic relief programs and
subprograms to respond to and mitigate
the effects of the pandemic. This report
provides a closer look at ten of the
federal programs, from seven federal
agencies, that aimed to respond to and
ease the effects of the pandemic on the
community.
Accomplishments
a U.S. Census Bureau data for Tribal areas.
b Land area size information was obtained from the Tribe’s website.
c Because individuals may be considered a member of more than one racial
demographic, the percentages may not equal 100 percent.
d Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data based on the rate of individuals
who received at least two doses of the vaccine. The vaccination rate represents the
countywide rate and is not specific to the White Earth Nation Reservation borders.
Data as of May 30, 2023.
e Data was obtained from the White Earth Nation’s Tribal Health Department and
identified totals for Mahnomen County, which encompasses a majority of White Earth
Nation Reservation’s population, as of February 28, 2023.
f U.S. Census Bureau. The poverty line varies depending on factors such as the year and
household size. Please see Poverty Thresholds for more information.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Accomplishments
Part Two–Investigating Fraud
Hold Wrongdoers Accountable
Led by the PRAC’s Investigative Services team, our PRAC Fraud
Task Force continues to be a critical investigative component
in the government’s fight against fraud in pandemic programs.
For example, to date, our work has led to 115 subjects charged
and over $27 million in restitution, seizures, forfeitures, civil
settlements, and voluntary repayments.1
We continue to take part, along with 30 partner agencies, in the
whole-of-government effort coordinated by the U.S. Department
of Justice’s (DOJ) COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force
(CFETF). As of April 2024, the efforts of the task force’s member
agencies have led to criminal charges against more than 3,500
defendants for losses of over $2 billion, civil enforcement actions
resulting in more than 400 civil settlements and judgments of
over $100 million, and over $1.4 billion seized or forfeited.2 The
CFETF has established five strike forces in California, Florida,
Maryland, Colorado, and New Jersey to focus on the most
complex and harmful pandemic fraud—often committed by
overseas, organized, or violent actors.
We are a member of DOJ’s International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, Organized
Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center (IOC-2), and the National Unemployment Insurance
Fraud Task Force, which enables us to engage in case deconfliction and share and receive investigative
intelligence. Our Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) serves as a key contributor for both the
PRAC Fraud Task Force and DOJ’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force by using advanced analytics tools
that incorporate multiple pandemic program data sources to uncover suspicious network activity and identify
anomalies that may indicate potential fraud. The PACE is a critical asset used by law enforcement to root out
issues like identity theft and fraud that cross program and agency boundaries. As of the publication of this
report, the PRAC has provided investigative support to more than 49 federal law enforcement and Offices
of Inspectors General (OIGs) partners on over 1,000 pandemic-related investigations, with over 23,500
subjects and a potential fraud loss of $2.42 billion.
The collaboration among the PRAC Fraud Task Force, CFETF, PACE, and our partners continues to deliver
results with successful investigations leading to arrests, convictions, and sentences.
1
Although the scope of this report covers through March 2025, we were not able to show the statistics by the end of that date. We provide these
statistics as of May 2025.
2
Although the scope of this report covers through March 2025, we were not able to show the statistics by the end of that date. We do not yet have
statistics for 2025. The annual report covering 2025 is not yet published.
The PRAC Fraud Task Force
The PRAC’s Fraud Task Force brings
together 50+ agents from 16 member
OIGs to: enhance our ability to
coordinate investigations; exchange
information about fraud schemes that
we identified; and share resources
that enable agents to support
investigations across the Inspector
General community. This task force
and other federal law enforcement
agencies use the data scientists and
resources of the PRAC’s data
analytics center to uncover patterns,
irregularities, and red flags that point
to potential fraud.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
PRAC Fraud Task Force Cases
Defendant Charged for CARES Act
Fraud Scheme
On February 20, 2025, the defendant pleaded
guilty for his role in a CARES Act fraud scheme. The
defendant, an owner of several gas stations, applied
for multiple COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster
Loans (EIDL) between June 2020 and November
2021, receiving a total of $1,869,900 in government
funds. The defendant certified on each of the EIDL
applications that all proceeds of the loans were to
be used for working capital to alleviate economic
injury caused by the pandemic. However, around
June 17, 2020, the defendant knowingly improperly
transferred $140,000 of the funds to a personal
bank account for his personal benefit. The defendant
agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $948,120,
which consisted of funds that were previously seized
pursuant to federal seizure warrants.
Lead PRAC Task Force Investigative Agency:
Department of Transportation (DOT) OIG
Other Investigative Partners: U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI), PRAC/PACE Investigative
Services
Five Individuals Sentenced for Joint
Fraud Scheme
On March 7, 2025, five defendants were sentenced
as part of a larger scheme of 17 defendants that
conspired between March 2020 and September
2021 to defraud the United States, commit program
fraud, and commit mail fraud involving the filing
of fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment
benefits. The scheme involved the collection of
personal identification information (PII) of inmates
housed at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail
Authority Haysi, as well as personal friends and
acquaintances of several of the defendants.
The conspirators used that information to file
fraudulent claims and recertifications for pandemic
unemployment benefits for incarcerated individuals
and others who were ineligible for the benefits. The
five defendants were each given prison sentences
ranging from 18 to 24 months and ordered to pay
restitution ranging from $13,202 to $26,406.
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: Special
Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR)
Other Investigative Partners: Dickenson County
Sheriff’s Office, the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail
Authority, the FBI, U.S. Department of Labor, the
Virginia Employment Commission, and PRAC/PACE
Investigative Services
Individual Sentenced for Supplying
False Information
On February 18, 2025, a defendant was sentenced
to 15 months of incarceration, placed on three years’
supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution
of $1,041,859. The defendant pleaded guilty to
one count of wire fraud and one count of money
laundering.
The investigation revealed that in June 2021,
the defendant, with assistance from another co-
conspirator, submitted falsified bank statements
and tax records, claiming the defendant’s business
had 76 employees and a total gross income of $4.9
million in order to obtain a PPP loan of $980,833 for
her business.
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: DOT OIG
Other Investigative Partners: FBI and PRAC/PACE
Investigative Services
Accomplishments

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
9
Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Two Defendants Sentenced for SBA
Loan Fraud Scheme
In January 2025, two defendants were each
sentenced to 33 months in prison following their
felony convictions for wire fraud and for making
false statements related to their involvement in
a family run Small Business Administration (SBA)
loan fraud scheme. One defendant was ordered
to pay restitution of $1,303,279, while the second
defendant was ordered to pay restitution of $70,832.
The second defendant was also convicted of felony
escape and sentenced to 33 months in prison to run
concurrently with his loan fraud conviction. Four of
the defendants’ family members and/or associates
were previously indicted and pleaded guilty to
their involvement in the fraud scheme. The court
ordered all six subjects to pay restitution totaling
$1,655,738.
The fraudsters in this case were involved in multiple
fraud schemes which included the use of fictitious
businesses, the use of stolen identities, making
false statements to financial institutions, misuse of
Social Security numbers, and the submission of false
documents (i.e., fictious bank statements, IRS tax
forms, driver’s licenses, voided checks, and billing
invoices).
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: PRAC
Other Investigative Partners: Social Security
Administration (SSA) OIG, SBA OIG, U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID) OIG, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) OIG, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Criminal Investigations (CI), U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
Lawton Police Department, Oklahoma City Police
Department, the Mid-States Organized Crime
Information Center (MOCIC), Springfield, MO, and
PRAC/PACE Investigative Services.
Individual Sentenced for EIDL Fraud
Scheme
On January 8, 2025, a defendant was sentenced
to two years of supervised release, with the first
five months to be served as home detention. The
defendant was also ordered to pay $179,090 in
restitution to SBA. The defendant had previously
pleaded guilty to theft of government property.  A
joint PRAC Task Force/FBI investigation revealed
the defendant obtained approximately $1.2 million
in EIDL funds and, for example, used $83,000 to
purchase a diamond ring and $96,090 to remodel a
home.
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: Department of
Veterans Affairs OIG
Other Investigative Partners: FBI
Accomplishments

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
10
Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Part Three–Successes of the Pandemic
Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE)
The PACE has more than five dozen data sources, with over one billion records from public, non-public, and
commercial data sources, each of which has specific rules governing their use. Some of these data sets
are shared across the OIG community. For example, we shared SBA nonpublic loan level data sets with 45
OIGs and law enforcement agencies as part of our effort to combat fraud detected in SBA’s PPP and EIDL
programs. Further, thanks to the hiring authority provided to the PRAC in the CARES Act, we have been
able to attract top data science talent from across the country. Not only has this aided us, but also our
highly successful Data Science Fellows program has detailed 27 data scientists to 14 OIGs to support their
pandemic-related data analytics efforts. The sophisticated work of our data scientists and our data analytics
platform have been instrumental in advancing our efforts to identify improper payments and fraudulent
activity in pandemic programs.
Our experience and insights highlight the value of expanding data sharing agreements to better detect
and prevent fraud to protect the American public and taxpayer dollars. Our data scientists have developed
automated robotic processes for some of the tasks associated with monitoring pandemic relief spending.
These processes help identify flags and anomalies, which are then sent to our investigators for a closer look.
We have also developed risk models to help IGs identify high-risk recipients of pandemic funds. The risk
flags utilized across various risk models also support lead generation and streamline investigative analysis.
Additionally, we have shared code and models (e.g., data transformation scripts, entity resolution code) with
17 OIGs and law enforcement agencies to help accelerate their analytic efforts.
Some of our successes this reporting period include:
• Developed the proof-of-concept for FLARE (Fraud Learning and Anomaly Recognition Engine), a machine
learning-based decision support system that identifies potential investigative leads within pandemic
program data. By learning from historical “under investigative review” examples and analyzing patterns
in large amounts of data, FLARE highlights high-risk entities and connections between individuals and
organizations that warrant further review. FLARE enhances investigators’ efficiency by enabling them to
quickly spot the riskiest entities.
• Used graph analytics to generate investigative leads for the Department of Justice COVID-19 Fraud
Enforcement Task Force, and other law enforcement entities, with a focus on leads involving potential
fraud rings and/or organized crime activity.
• Used graph analytics to support ongoing pandemic cases for the OIG and law enforcement community
with a focus on identifying potential network activity, often resulting in an increased potential fraud
amount subject to recovery and higher number of targets.
• Established and upheld data governance to align with our Enterprise Data Management (EDM) strategy
and comply with memorandum of understanding (MOU) and data usage agreements (DUA) requirements.
The PACE EDM comprises an interwoven set of plans and activities that span the development of our
data strategy, an inventory of the critical datasets, MOU/DUA, and the production and alignment of a
data catalog, policies, standards, and workflows. PRAC’s Data Governance Board regularly meets to
review and vote on data governance topics.
Accomplishments

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Accomplishments
Part Four–Promoting Transparency
Through Our Website
During this reporting period, we developed an innovative AI tool that allows users to submit questions and
get answers related to federal programs. The responses are summaries and highlights from more than
26,000 reports that include Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of our Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity (Blueprint),
COVID oversight reports published by the GAO, and reports published by Inspectors General on Oversight.gov.
Along with responses, the AI tool provides citations to the referenced Blueprint chapters and GAO reports.
We also published Chapter 3 of the Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity which focuses on the best
practices and lessons learned to help prevent and detect fraud. The oversight community and policymakers
can apply the strategies highlighted in Chapter 3 when designing and implementing emergency and non-
emergency programs.
Before September 30, 2025, the PRAC will publish two remaining Blueprint chapters:
• Chapter 4 – The Whole-of-Government Approach is intended for the oversight community, Office of
Management and Budget, the Administration, and agency heads. This chapter focuses on how state,
local, and federal governments worked together during the pandemic to share solutions for mitigating
increased challenges.
• Chapter 5 – Cross-Cutting Projects, for the oversight community, will provide actionable insights, tips, and
lessons learned on how to collaborate when developing joint oversight projects. This chapter will focus on
vision, planning, execution, and reporting processes for cross-cutting projects.
We continue to gain valuable insights into how users interact with PandemicOversight.gov through our
customer satisfaction survey. With input of more than 15,000 visitors between October 1, 2024, and March
31, 2025, we have learned much more about who visits our site, what they are interested in, and how we can
improve their experience. For example, 64 percent of visitors who answered the survey identified themselves
as “Interested Citizens” with 53 percent finding the website very useful.  The most common content that
survey respondents were looking for continued to be information on the Paycheck Protection Program.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Accomplishments
Part Five–PRAC Outreach
We proactively work to keep the public informed with events, email campaigns, and an active social
media presence. In this reporting period, we sent numerous email campaigns highlighting our work and
other resources to thousands of subscribers and critical stakeholders. We regularly provided updates on
pandemic-related fraud schemes in our Fraud Feature series and details on PRAC Fraud Task Force cases.
We also shared key insights from our Impact reports on the locations of Marion County, GA, and White Earth
Nation Reservation in Minnesota. We shared new chapters in the Blueprint for Enhancing Program Integrity.
We regularly provided congressional staff and members with updates on our work and are available to
answer any questions they may have.
On March 11, 2025, PRAC Executive Director Ken Dieffenbach testified before the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Government Operations Subcommittee,
at a hearing titled, “Shifting Gears: Moving from Recovery to Prevention of Improper Payments and Fraud.”
In his testimony, Executive Director Dieffenbach described how the PRAC has used data analytics to prevent
improper payments and fraud. He urged Congress to sustain its capabilities past the PRAC’s scheduled
sunset in September 2025 and to expand its jurisdiction to all federal spending. Executive Director
Dieffenbach also emphasized the need for agencies and oversight bodies to keep pace with the evolving
fraud landscape, understand the fraud-fighting benefits of enhanced data sharing and data analytics, and
foster a culture of fraud prevention that incentivizes staff to balance pre-award due diligence with disbursing
funds.
PRAC Chair Horowitz released a statement on the bipartisan legislation, the Federal Accountability
Committee for Transparency (FACT) Act of 2025, reported favorably and unanimously by the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 25, 2025. The FACT Act of 2025 would maintain
the PRAC’s valuable fraud prevention and fraud-fighting tool through December 31, 2026, and rename it the
“Fraud Prevention and Accountability Committee.” Chair Horowitz thanked Chairman James Comer, the late
Ranking Member Gerry Connolly of the full Committee, and Chairman Pete Sessions and Ranking Member
Kweisi Mfume of the Government Operations Subcommittee for their bipartisan leadership on this antifraud
initiative that will improve the integrity of federal programs, and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud,
and abuse. Chair Horowitz also released a statement  following two guilty pleas in a $109 million pandemic
fraud investigation supported by the PRAC’s data analytics center, which demonstrates its invaluable role in
detecting fraud on behalf of taxpayers.
Our senior leaders and other staff members have provided insights, lessons learned, and demos to other
oversight professionals through speaking engagements, including presentations for the CIGIE Technology
Committee, the American Association of Accounting, the Association of Government Accountants, and
the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. These engagements centered on topics such as grants
management and effective oversight.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
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Highlights
Background
Reports
Appendices
Accomplishments
Our unique vantage point allows us to share our insights and lessons learned with other oversight entities at
the federal, state, local, and international level to ensure watchdogs can work together to protect American
taxpayer dollars, both now and in the future. When we share our insights through platforms such as these,
we build new ways to ensure that our partners and other stakeholders can approach these challenges
effectively and support the public as best they can.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
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Highlights
Background
Accomplishments
Appendices
Reports
Insights Through Oversight Reports
From October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, federal Offices of Inspector General issued 43 oversight
reports related to the federal government’s pandemic response, and these reports identified over $727
million in monetary findings (e.g., questioned costs or funds put to better use). OIGs also made 145
recommendations to improve the government’s response to the pandemic and to future emergencies, such
as improving the government’s ability to ensure assistance funding reached the intended beneficiaries.
Oversight products issued during this reporting period help highlight the health and financial impacts on the
American public and the intended beneficiaries of assistance across different assistance programs. See the
following table for more information about the reports issued by our federal OIG partners. For a complete list
of all federal oversight reports issued, see Oversight.gov.
Federal Oversight Reports from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025
Office of Inspector General
Total Reports
Total
Recommendations
Total Monetary
Findings
Department of Education
6
7
$0
Department of Labor
1
4
$0
Department of Transportation
1
0
$0
Department of the Treasury
27
109
$727,236,314
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
1
0
$0
Small Business Administration
4
12
$0
United States Agency for International Development
1
4
$0
United States Election Assistance Commission
1
5
$74,005
AmeriCorps
1
4
$0
Totals
43
145
$727,310,319

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
15
Highlights
Background
Accomplishments
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
15
Appendices
Reports
Appendix A: Abbreviations and
Acronyms
CARES Act
CIGIE
COVID-19
COVID-19 EIDL
DOJ
DOT
CFETF
CRF
EIDL
FACT
FBI
GAO
IG
IOC-2
OIG
PACE
PII
PPP
PRAC
SBA
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Novel coronavirus disease 2019
COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Department of Justice
Department of Transportation
COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Coronavirus Relief Fund
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Federal Accountability Committee for Transparency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Government Accountability Office
Inspector General
DOJ’s International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, Organized
Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center
Office of Inspector General
Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence
Personal Identification Information
Paycheck Protection Program
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Small Business Administration

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025
16
Highlights
Background
Accomplishments
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
16
Appendix B: Hotline Data
Since inception, the PRAC received most of its hotline complaints through its electronic complaint form
located here: pandemicoversight.gov/contact/about-hotline. The PRAC’s hotline provides an avenue for
concerned citizens to report potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement related to the pandemic
response, CARES Act, and other related legislation.
During the reporting period, we received 2,342 hotline communications, of which 906 were filed for
information or not actionable. The remaining hotline complaints were deemed allegations of fraud, waste,
abuse, or mismanagement. From these, the PRAC made 1,436 referrals to six different Offices of Inspectors
General for review and appropriate action.
Appendices
Reports
Hotline Tips
Allegations
Filed for Information
or Not Actionable
2,342
1,436
Offices of
Inspectors
General
6
906

For more information:
Lisa Reijula
Associate Director of Outreach and Engagement, PRAC
Lisa.Reijula@cigie.gov
Visit us at:
PandemicOversight.gov
Follow us at:
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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