PRAC Semiannual Report to Congress, October 2025–March 2026
Summary
Semiannual Report to Congress of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) for October 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026. In the Message from the Chair, William W. Kirk, Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration, states that appointment as PRAC Chair came on March 1, 2026. The message lists accomplishments, including a Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2030, analytic support that expanded the Blueacorn investigation from 210 to 1,596 potential subjects, and a Fraud Prevention Engine pilot trained on approximately 5 million SBA COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications. Appendix B reports 2,229 hotline submissions during the reporting period.
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“PRAC Semiannual Report to Congress, October 2025–March 2026.”
Original at www.pandemicoversight.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/prac-reports-cumulative-fraud-task-force-results-in-its-spring-2026-se-37cd863375/
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PANDEMIC RESPONSE ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |0
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Message from the Chair
As Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
(PRAC), I’m pleased to share our spring 2026 Semiannual Report to
Congress. I was honored to be appointed Chair of the PRAC on
March 1, 2026, replacing Acting Chair Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector
General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As Inspector General
of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), I lead an office that
has seen firsthand the scale, complexity, and consequences of
pandemic relief fraud. As PRAC Chair, I am committed to ensuring
rigorous oversight, transparency, and accountability across the
federal government so that relief funds are protected and the
public’s trust is upheld.
Inspector General William W. Kirk
This Semiannual Report to Congress outlines the PRAC’s accomplishments between October 1,
2025, and March 31, 2026 in advancing the government’s ability to prevent and detect fraud
in federal programs. Notable PRAC accomplishments from this reporting period:
• Following Congress’ July 2025 extension of the PRAC in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public
Law 119-21), the PRAC issued a Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2030, which highlights our
mission to promote and support fraud prevention and detection efforts across federal
programs by leveraging innovation and data analytics. Of note is the objective to
“demonstrate the value and effectiveness of fraud prevention.” It is critical to show the clear
and quantifiable benefits that result from investment in fraud prevention.
• The PRAC’s collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission Office of Inspector
General on two comprehensive dashboards to identify risks in the Emergency Connectivity
Fund, the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, and the Emergency Broadband Benefits Program.
• The PRAC’s analytic support in the investigation of Blueacorn, a fintech company that
facilitated Paycheck Protection Program loans. PRAC analysts used graph analytics to identify
hidden connections among borrowers, expanding the investigation from 210 to 1,596
potential subjects and increasing the estimated fraud loss from $13.6 million to $111.5
million. Blueacorn’s two co-founders each received 10-year sentences and were ordered to
pay more than $65 million in restitution.
• The PRAC’s development of an artificial intelligence-enabled “Fraud Prevention Engine” pilot,
which was trained using a sample of approximately 5 million SBA COVID-19 Economic Injury
Disaster Loan applications to detect potential anomalies in benefits applications. This fraud
prevention tool will be used to conduct secondary screening prior to disbursement.
• The PRAC’s January 2026 testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, Government Operations Subcommittee, on its
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |1
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
responsible use of innovative data analytics tools to proactively identify anomalies, trends,
patterns, and hidden connections in benefits applications.
• The PRAC’s February 2026 testimony, delivered alongside me in my capacity as SBA
Inspector General, to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on
its work overseeing funds related to the pandemic and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to
improve fraud identification and prevention across federal programs, including those
intended to help small businesses.
Thanks to the bipartisan support of Congress and collaborations with oversight partners, the PRAC
has proven the benefits of having an independent data-centric entity focused on helping the
oversight community and agencies in the prevention and early detection of fraud and other forms of
improper payments. We look forward to continuing our efforts to support the Inspector General
community in protecting taxpayer dollars from fraud, waste, and abuse.
Signature
William W. Kirk
Inspector General, U.S. Small Business Administration
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |2
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Contents
Message from the Chair 1
Contents 3
Highlights 4
Background 5
PRAC Membership 5
Mission and Vision 6
PRAC Accomplishments
Part One–Investigating Fraud. Waste, and Abuse 7
Part Two–Using Data and Technology to Identify Risks 9
Part Three–Promoting Collaborations to Enhance Program Integrity 11
Appendix A: Abbreviations and Acronyms 13
Appendix B: Hotline Data 14
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |3
Semiannual Report to Congress
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Highlights
PRAC Initiatives
$2.5 $262
Billion Million
in potential fraud losses in civil and administrative
identified in over 1,200 recoveries resulting from work
pandemic-related with the Pension Benefit
investigations with over Guaranty Corporation Office of
24,000 subjects Inspector General
17
Offices of Inspectors General
supported with custom
capacity-building and training
activities
PRAC Fraud Task Force
50+ 22
Task Force Agents from Civil settlements
16 Offices of Inspectors General
134 92
Subjects charged to date Sentencings
$111
Million+
in total monetary recoveries
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |4
Semiannual Report to Congress
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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 more than 70 statutorily created federal Offices of Inspectors
General (OIGs).
The CARES Act identifies Inspectors General (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 March 31, 2026, the PRAC is staffed by a
full-time Executive Director, 25 employees, 41 contractors, and one detailee.
In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act (P.L. 119-21) amended the CARES Act to extend
the PRAC’s sunset date until September 30, 2034, expanded the PRAC’s jurisdiction to include
programs funded in the OBBB Act, and appropriated $88 million in no-year funding to the PRAC.
The PRAC promotes transparency by providing Congress and the public with objective, reliable
information, and we work with OIGs to recommend program improvements, refer matters for criminal
investigations, and identify misspent funds for recovery. Our reports and other resources are
available at PandemicOversight.gov.
PRAC Membership
During the reporting period, the IGs of the following agencies served as members of the
PRAC:
Department or Agency OIG
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Labor
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Transportation
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Reserve Board
National Science Foundation
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Small Business Administration
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
United States Agency for International Development
United States Postal Service
Mission and Vision
In December 2025, we released our Strategic Plan through 2030. It is designed to help inform the
public, Congress, and other stakeholders of the PRAC’s efforts to lead innovative and transformative
data-driven fraud prevention and detection efforts while embracing values of integrity, teamwork,
curiosity, excellence, innovation, and objectivity. It guides PRAC team members as they deliver high-
quality, impactful, independent oversight of pandemic spending and programs funded in the OBBB
Act.
The plan identifies three goals to carry out our mission of promoting and supporting fraud prevention
and detection efforts across federal programs by leveraging innovation and data analytics:
• Prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse
• Promote collaboration that enhances program integrity and protects taxpayer dollars
• Ensure effective and efficient PRAC operations
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |6
Semiannual Report to Congress
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Part One–Investigating Fraud, Waste,
and Abuse
Holding Wrongdoers Accountable
The PRAC Fraud Task Force is a critical investigative component in The PRAC Fraud Task Force
the government’s fight against fraud in federal programs. To date,
our work has led to 134 subjects charged, 92 sentencings, and The PRAC Fraud Task Force
more than $111 million in total monetary recoveries. brings together more than 50
agents from 16 member OIGs
The PRAC provides law enforcement and OIG partners, as well as to: enhance our ability to coordinate
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, with access to datasets, on-demand investigations; exchange information
analytics, and investigative support. Our advanced analytics about fraud schemes; and share
tools incorporate multiple pandemic program data sources to resources that enable agents to
uncover suspicious network activity and identify indicators of support investigations across
potential fraud. These are critical assets used by law enforcement the IG community. This task force
to root out issues like identity theft and fraud that cross program and other federal law enforcement
and agency boundaries. The collaboration among the PRAC Fraud agencies use our data analytics to
Task Force, our data scientists, and our partners results in uncover patterns, irregularities, and
successful investigations leading to arrests, convictions, and red flags that point to potential
sentences. fraud.
PRAC Fraud Task Force Cases
Defendants Sentenced in Other Investigative Partners: IRS-CI,
Federal Reserve Board OIG, and SBA OIG
COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme
On November 21 and December 18, 2025, Defendant Pleaded Guilty to
the co-founders of a Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) lender service provider were Unlawful Money Transactions
sentenced and ordered to pay over $65
million in combined restitution in connection On March 20, 2026, a defendant pleaded
with thousands of fraudulent loan applications guilty to fraud totaling nearly $300,000 in
totaling nearly $300 million. Along with their both PPP and COVID-19 Economic Injury
co-conspirators, the two fabricated Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds. The individual
documents, including payroll records, tax made false representations regarding the
documentation and bank statements. They business to obtain $277,456 in loans and
also charged borrowers kickbacks based on a used those funds for personal or non-
percentage of the funds received. permissible expenses including obtaining
a $40,000 cashier’s check to purchase a
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: Special
vehicle.
Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
(SIGPR)
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |7
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: National
Aeronautics and Space Administration OIG Defendant Sentenced for Bank
Other Investigative Partners: IRS-CI Fraud and False Statements
On January 23, 2026, a defendant was
Defendant Pleaded Guilty to sentenced to four years in prison for
Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud fraudulently obtaining $1.7 million in PPP and
COVID-19 EIDL funds. The defendant falsified
information regarding several businesses that
On March 10, 2026, a defendant pleaded were not operating and had no employees at
guilty for their role in submitting at least 15 the time of submission to the Small Business
falsified PPP and COVID-19 EIDL applications Administration (SBA). The defendant spent the
to fraudulently obtain nearly $1 million in funds on plastic surgery, home renovations,
funds, which they spent on personal expenses and family expenses.
such as real estate, cryptocurrency, and home
renovations. The defendant will be sentenced Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: SIGPR
on June 25, 2026. Other Investigative Partners: Federal Bureau
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: U.S. of Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance
Agency for International Development (USAID) Corporation OIG, and PRAC Investigative
OIG Services
Other Investigative Partners: PRAC
Investigative Services Defendants Indicted on One
Count of Conspiracy to Commit
Defendants Sentenced for Wire Fraud
Unemployment Scheme
On December 2, 2025, three defendants were
arrested in connection to a case that has
On March 6, 2026, three co-conspirators who
resulted in six convictions and restitution of
stole more than $650,000 from taxpayers
$1.7 million. The defendants were allegedly
using the personally identifying information
part of a scheme to obtain more than $2
(PII) of inmates at a prison, and others who
million in funds by submitting falsified
were ineligible to receive pandemic
documents in 119 PPP applications.
unemployment benefits, to file false
unemployment benefits claims were Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: PRAC
sentenced to prison. Investigative Services
Lead PRAC TF Investigative Agency: Special Other Investigative Partners: SBA OIG, USAID
Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery OIG, Department of Transportation OIG,
Export-Import Bank of the United States OIG,
Other Investigative Partners: Department of
Federal Trade Commission, and Mid-States
Labor OIG, IRS-CI
Organized Crime Information Center
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |8
Part Two–Using Data and Technology
to Identify Risks
The PRAC’s data analytics center includes 70 data sources, with over 1 billion records from public,
nonpublic, and commercial data sources, each with specific rules governing their use. Some of these
data sets are shared across the OIG community. For example, we shared SBA nonpublic loan data
sets with 49 OIGs and law enforcement agencies as part of our effort to combat fraud detected in
the SBA’s PPP and COVID-19 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.
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 risk models to help OIGs identify high-risk recipients of pandemic funds. The risk
flags across various risk models also support lead generation and streamline investigative analysis.
These processes help identify flags and anomalies, which are then shared with our audit and
investigative partners for further review. Additionally, we have shared code and models (e.g., data
transformation scripts and entity resolution code) with 17 OIGs and law enforcement agencies to
help accelerate their analytics efforts. We continue to strengthen our fraud prevention capabilities
through the development and enhancement of the Fraud Prevention Engine.
Some of our successes this reporting period include:
• Completing a joint initiative with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) OIG to
develop risk models and dashboards for three key FCC pandemic relief programs,
collectively totaling nearly $11 billion in funding.
This effort cross-correlated FCC data with our existing data sources to surface risks related to
FCC entities and delivered results in interactive Power BI dashboards, enabling prioritization
from highest to lowest risk. The risk model utilizes 53 risk indicators across 17 different data
sources. The interactive Power BI dashboard enables investigators and auditors to identify and
explore potentially risky entities in depth, enhancing the effectiveness of program oversight.
• Leveraging the Fraud Learning and Anomaly Recognition Engine (FLARE), our machine-
learning-based decision support system, to generate high-quality investigative leads for
OIG and law enforcement partners.
FLARE learns from historical examples and analyzes large-scale data to uncover relationships
between individuals and/or organizations and then ranks entities and potential fraud networks
by their relative fraud risk.
• Using graph analytics to support ongoing pandemic cases for the OIG and law enforcement
community with a focus on identifying potential network activity.
This may result in an increased potential fraud amount subject to recovery and higher number
of targets.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |9
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
• Conducting a follow-up analysis to our June 2025 Fraud Prevention Alert on the potential
use of stolen or invalid Social Security Numbers (SSNs), focusing on those flagged as
deceased.
We shared the same sample data used in the 2025 Alert with the Department of Treasury’s
Do Not Pay system, and we received the date of death information for deceased individuals.
Using this output, we identified the SSNs where the death occurred prior to the submission of
SBA’s PPP and COVID-19 EIDL applications and the Department of Labor’s pandemic
unemployment insurance claims. We are also using statistical modeling to estimate the total
counts and dollar amounts tied to deceased individuals across the three programs.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |10
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Part Three–Promoting Collaborations to
Enhance Program Integrity
The PRAC informs the public and key stakeholders of our work through regular updates to Congress
and outreach that highlight how our unique vantage point allows us to share insights with oversight
entities at the federal, state, local, and international level. These collaborations support
congressional understanding of the PRAC’s contributions in fraud prevention and recovery of federal
funds. They also demonstrate how our analytics capabilities can help agencies detect fraud risks and
strengthen program integrity before funds are disbursed.
During this reporting period, PRAC Executive Director Ken Dieffenbach testified before the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Government Operations
Subcommittee. Building on his testimony in March 2025, Executive Director Dieffenbach updated
the Subcommittee on the PRAC’s efforts in fraud prevention, detection, and mitigation, which have
recovered over $500 million in taxpayer funds to date. He shared how the PRAC’s responsible use of
innovative data analytics tools can proactively identify anomalies, trends, patterns, and hidden
connections in benefits applications. He also shared the PRAC’s development of its artificial
intelligence-enabled Fraud Prevention Engine that can review approximately 20,000 applications per
second. This proof-of-concept project can flag applications requiring additional due diligence and
applications with attributes indicative of organized criminal fraud rings and newly emerging threats
to program integrity. Had this model been in use in March 2020, it would have flagged potentially
tens of billions of dollars in payments for further scrutiny before funds were disbursed.
Executive Director Dieffenbach also testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship on the PRAC’s work overseeing funds related to the pandemic and OBBB Act
to improve fraud identification and prevention across federal programs, including those intended to
help small businesses. With the extension of the statute of limitations for PPP and COVID-19 EIDL to
2030, the PRAC continues to receive thousands of hotline tips from the public that generate leads
for law enforcement investigations. Executive Director Dieffenbach urged Congress to consider
extending the statute of limitations for all pandemic-related fraud from five to 10 years, given the
scope of the fraud the PRAC has uncovered to date.
PRAC leadership frequently participates in capacity-building training sessions with organizations
such as the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the National Grants Management Association,
and the National Academy of Public Administration to share the PRAC’s data‑driven approaches to
identifying and addressing emerging fraud risks, with the goal of strengthening the collective impact
of the anti-fraud and oversight communities. The PRAC continues to convene state and local
auditors, as well as the Government Accountability Office and federal OIGs, to share best practices in
fraud prevention and discuss emerging fraud risks, particularly to federally funded, state-run
programs.
Finally, we enhanced PandemicOversight.gov to advance our Strategic Plan and strengthen public
awareness of our mission to prevent improper payments and fraud in federal spending and
programs. Key updates include repositioning the Home Page to highlight our data analytics
capabilities, launching an Advanced Data Analytics section highlighting case studies and fraud alerts,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |11
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updating the About Us section with the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and the new PRAC Chair, and
creating dedicated areas for PRAC publications and cross-cutting reports.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |12
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Appendix A: Abbreviations and
Acronyms
CARES Act Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
CIGIE Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
COVID-19 Novel coronavirus disease 2019
DOJ Department of Justice
EIDL Economic Injury Disaster Loan
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FLARE Fraud Learning and Anomaly Recognition Engine
IG Inspector General
OBBB Act One Big Beautiful Bill Act
OIG Office of Inspector General
PPP Paycheck Protection Program
PRAC Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
SBA Small Business Administration
SIGPR Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
SSNs Social Security Numbers
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |13
Semiannual Report to Congress
OCTOBER 1, 2025 - MARCH 31, 2026
Appendix B: Hotline Data
Since inception, the PRAC has 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,
CARES Act, and other related legislation. During the reporting period, we received 2,229
hotline submissions, of which 896 were filed for information or not actionable. Out of the
remaining hotline complaints, 825 were deemed allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or
mismanagement and 914 referrals were made to six OIGs for review and appropriate action.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee |14
For more information:
Lisa Reijula
Associate Director of Outreach and Engagement
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.
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