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 iv 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 6 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 7 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 OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025 8 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 11 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 12 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 Semiannual Report to Congress OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025 13 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 Semiannual Report to Congress OCTOBER 1, 2024 - MARCH 31, 2025 14 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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