'Biggest fraud in a generation': The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP

[Nevilledog]

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Tom Winter
@Tom_Winter
NBC News: 'Biggest fraud in a generation': The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP.

Lambo'ss, Ferrari's, Bentley's, and a lot of Tesla's bought by fraudsters with your money.

The first in a series of reports: https://nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/biggest-fraud-generation-looting-covid-relief-program-known-ppp-n1279664…
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1:24 PM · Mar 28, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/biggest-fraud-generation-looting-covid-relief-program-known-ppp-n1279664

They bought Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys.

And Teslas, of course. Lots of Teslas.

Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations.

They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. That’s on top of the $90 billion to $400 billion believed to have been stolen from the $900 billion Covid unemployment relief program — at least half taken by international fraudsters — as NBC News reported last year. And another $80 billion potentially pilfered from a separate Covid disaster relief program.

The prevalence of Covid relief fraud has been known for some time, but the enormous scope and its disturbing implications are only now becoming clear.


*snip*

[brer cat]

1. It is sickening. I don't know how these people sleep at night.

[dchill]

4. They use MyPillows.

[brer cat]

6. LOL

[Joinfortmill]

20. LOL

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Anytime there's money, someone will try to steal it. More...

money means more thieves.

[global1]

3. This Was Predictable....

As soon as I heard about this Covid relief plan or fund - I said that there are going to be a lot of corrupt people that will make money off of this. Why???

Because these government funded give a-way programs don't know how to distribute monies with the care that is needed to verify the people that receive the money - and they don't put a verification plan in place to track the monies.

This is really tragic when you think of it. I just hope that there will be a way to catch these fraudsters. Recover the money. And put them in jail.

Upon an edit here: Why can't the government hire credit card companies to administer such programs. Credit card companies have the systems in place to track things and they are very good at discovering fraud.

I think that there would be a good opportunity for someone to start a company that tracks the distribution of government monies in programs like this. This company could also monitor other programs where fraud runs rampant.

Paying a company to administer government funds would be cheaper than the money that is pocketed from such government programs because of the fraud.

We taxpayers should complain. It's our money that they are so frivolously playing with.

[uponit7771]

17. Benedict Donald's admin had something to do with the lack of gaurdrails

[Deminpenn]

18. IIRC, the Paycheck Protection Program loans

were run through banks precisely so the applicants could be checked and verified.

[SergeStorms]

7. And all of them complain....

about high taxes (which many don't pay at all), how big government is destroying this country, and how immigrants are getting free medical care and welfare (they're not).

So they say, "Hey, I'm going to get what the government owes me. Why should the poor and immigrants get everything for free and I get nothing"? So they steal a half million or so, probably a lot more, and they buy that Ferrari they've had their eye on. "It's good for the economy!"

I'd bet my right arm 90% of them are republicans as well.

[Puppyjive]

8. McDonald's

Someone tell me how our local McDonald's got PPP funds? The family owns several McDonald's and have been making record profits. They don't want to open the doors because they are making a shit ton of money. They got the funds. You can track who got the money in your local community. Pro Publica has the the link.

[quakerboy]

10. How much?

Im 100% sure the fund was looted by large businesses.

Im equally sure the fund kept a lot of small businesses afloat.

And last Im quite sure that any retroactive enforcement or investigations will primarily focus on the second category for minor bookkeeping issue and only a few of the first for appearances sake.

[Demovictory9]

9. In the annals of Covid fraud cases, few have matched the brazenness suspected of Danielle Miller,

In the annals of Covid fraud cases, few have matched the brazenness suspected of Danielle Miller, according to federal prosecutors in Boston, where she was charged. The charging documents in her case say she stole identifying information from a Massachusetts state website and used the information to apply for Covid relief loans.

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2022_13/3507139/210920-danielle-miller-se-527p.jpg

In 40 minutes, she had $100,000 in taxpayer money, court documents say. She soon booked a private jet from Florida to California, where she spent $5,500 at a luxury hotel in West Hollywood, court papers allege.

On her Instagram account, which has 34,000 followers, Miller posted photos from two posh hotel stays paid for with criminal proceeds, prosecutors say. Her bio: “I want that.”

“Miller’s criminal record includes arrests in five different states, many of which were related to larceny and identity-related fraud,” the complaint in the case says.

[Celerity]

13. She is from NYC, and she was 'Swiffer Girl' 18 years ago and has a long history of scamming

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/danielle-miller-scammer.html

[Demovictory9]

15. I hope she gets a real sentence this time... prison for a few years

[dupagelib]

11. Lock 'em up!

Rico them and take it all away, at least make them pay outrageous fees to lawyers.

[dalton99a]

12. Kick

[Hekate]

14. There are days I just want to give up on this country

[Make7]

16. If only Trump could have been the oversight.

March 24, 2020

Q   What are the sticking points on the stimulus? Who is going to hold Treasury accountable for this 500-billion-dollar corporate rescue fund [Exchange Stabilization Fund]?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you need that to help all of these companies that have a chance of not being companies anymore. And that’s going to be a good thing for the country because deals will be made. And we’re talking to certain people — some of the greatest people in the history of Wall Street, frankly, where, when they do a deal, we’ll have stock for the — for America. We’ll take back stock for the United States. We’ll do —

At the same time, most importantly, we’ll keep those companies healthy. But we can also make incredible deals for the country so that that number will increase exponentially.

I mean, that’s a great —

Q   But the concern isn’t about the fund, it’s about the lack of oversight of Treasury having this unilateral authority to dole out all of this money.

THE PRESIDENT: No, no. Look, I’ll be the oversight. I’ll be the oversight. We’re going to make good deals. We make good deals. But these companies need it. Even it was just a simple loan, which would be — but we can do better than that. And the companies are willing to do better than that. I mean, they got hit. Most of these companies, it was through no fault of their own. There are a couple where it was — you know, they were troubled before they came in. We talked about one. They had trouble; nobody can believe it, actually, in that one.

But these companies are — through no fault of their own, they have difficulty. I mean, two weeks ago, these companies were among the most solid institutions in the world. You’d want to buy their bonds; their bonds were rated AAA, or whatever their highest rating is today. And now, all of a sudden, they have difficulty because they’ve been closed up.

So you need something to keep them going. But that money is not going to be wasted money. That money is going to be seen. And we could multiply that number by many times coming back to the American public. That could be a phenomenal thing. But most importantly, it’s going to keep these great engines of jobs and ingenuity going. Very important.

[SammyWinstonJack]

21. He's incoherent. Makes my head hurt just reading what bs he comes with.

[Baitball Blogger]

19. Are these people going to jail? Or are they using Covid money to hire good lawyers?

?

[Johnny2X2X]

22. Huge difference between administrations

With Trump it was a free for all that encouraged fraud, Biden put i controls to make sure small businesses got most of the money and with better oversight.

[Stuart G]

23. Thank You for Posting & Sharing With Us...K and R