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Highlights of GAO-24-107157: COVID-19: Insights and Actions for Fraud Prevention

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Highlights page of GAO-24-107157, testimony dated November 14, 2023, before the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, titled "COVID-19: Insights and Actions for Fraud Prevention." GAO says the full extent of fraud tied to COVID-19 relief funds will never be known with certainty, but estimates are in the hundreds of billions. It points to fraud schemes, data and system challenges such as limited data sharing, and program design choices as sources of insight for prevention. As of August 2023, agencies needed to take additional action to fully address 95 GAO recommendations, and all 10 actions for Congress identified in March 2022 remain open.

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“Highlights of GAO-24-107157: COVID-19: Insights and Actions for Fraud Prevention.” Original at www.gao.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/highlights-of-gao-24-107157-covid-19-insights-and-actions-for-fraud-pr-8ed1da77f6/, SHA-256 719d80b60470cfec3c2c2e23f177ffbf97d0db0ef03002e80c57d71926d09e8b.

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                                            November 14, 2023

                                            COVID-19
                                            Insights and Actions for Fraud Prevention

Highlights of GAO-24-107157, a testimony
before the Subcommittee on Emerging
Threats and Spending Oversight, Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, U.S. Senate



Why GAO Did This Study                      What GAO Found
Since March 2020, Congress and the          Challenges that agencies faced in implementing COVID-19 relief programs
administration have provided trillions of   provide insights into fraud prevention for normal operations and future
dollars in COVID-19 relief funding to       emergencies. Specifically, understanding fraud schemes that emerged during the
help the nation respond to, and recover     pandemic can provide opportunities for program managers to identify internal
from, the pandemic. Agencies across         controls that had been circumvented and respond to mitigate the related risks.
the federal government acted quickly        Data and system challenges, such as limited data sharing, highlight the value of
to stand up new programs and greatly        data analytics for fraud prevention. Additionally, thoughtful program design
scale up existing programs.                 choices that consider fraud vulnerabilities can facilitate fraud prevention.
While COVID-19 relief programs were
critical for assuring public health and     Insights from COVID-19 Relief to Inform Fraud Prevention
economic stability, they also created
unprecedented opportunities for fraud
due to the dollars involved and other
risk factors. While the full extent of
fraud associated with the COVID-19
relief funds will never be known with
certainty, estimates are in the
hundreds of billions. In light of what
was likely lost to fraud during the
pandemic, the importance of fraud
prevention cannot be stressed enough.
This testimony discusses (1) insights
for prevention from COVID-19 fraud;
and (2) recommendations, matters,
and resources for improving fraud
prevention in normal operations and
future emergencies.
GAO reviewed its prior COVID-19
findings and recommendations on
internal controls and fraud risk
management practices.

What GAO Recommends                         With strategic fraud risk management, agencies are better positioned to manage
As of August 2023, agencies needed          fraud during normal operations and emergencies. Sources that provide additional
to take additional action to fully          insight for fraud prevention include recommendations GAO has made to
address 95 GAO recommendations to           agencies, actions GAO identified that Congress can take to strengthen fraud risk
help ensure they are effectively            management practices across the government, and resources GAO developed to
managing fraud risks. Additionally, in      support strategic fraud risk management. Implementing these recommendations
March 2022, GAO identified 10 actions       and taking these actions, along with leveraging available resources, can enable
Congress could take to strengthen           agencies to carry out their missions and better protect taxpayer dollars from fraud
internal controls and financial and         during normal operations and prepare them to face the next emergency.
fraud risk management practices
across the government. All 10 remain        An Insight Based on GAO Resources and Recommendations to Agencies and Congress
open.
View GAO-24-107157. For more information,
contact Rebecca Shea at (202) 512-6722 or
shear@gao.gov.


                                                                                         United States Government Accountability Office

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