Ernst calls out federal fraudsters who took COVID-19 unemployment while getting paychecks from taxpayers
Ernst slams government workers who falsely claimed they lost their jobs during pandemic and received unemployment
Joni Ernst: We need to fire these fraudsters
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on government employees who filed for unemployment benefits while receiving a government paycheck on 'Kudlow.'
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst is demanding that the federal watchdogs overseeing the government's COVID-19 pandemic spending investigate potentially thousands of federal employees who may have falsely claimed that they lost their jobs during the pandemic and received unemployment benefits.
On Friday, Ernst wrote a letter to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) requesting an inquiry into reported abuse of the federal pandemic unemployment and lost wages assistance programs. Her letter cited a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general's report that said nearly 2,000 DHS employees fraudulently obtained more than $2 million in COVID-19 benefits meant for people who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Ernst also called attention to indictments and reports of employees at other federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak and the Secret Service, falsely claiming jobless benefits while also receiving taxpayer-funded paychecks for their federal jobs.
"It is appalling for anyone fortunate enough to have the reliability of a government paycheck to take advantage of financial assistance intended to provide a lifeline to Americans who lost their jobs or were unable to work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These misbehaved bureaucrats have also tarnished the reputation of the other dedicated civil servants, many of whom worked long hours in essential jobs during the pandemic." Ernst wrote.
Sen. Joni Ernst speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 6, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In September, the DHS Office of Inspector General released a report that found the Federal Emergency Management Agency distributed more than $3.7 billion in improper and potentially fraudulent payments through the agency's Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program.
Federal government workers are suspected of participating in the fraud. The inspector general determined that FEMA "did not implement controls to prevent" more than $2.6 million in potentially fraudulent LWA claims by DHS employees, or fraudsters who stole the identities of DHS employees. The report said 1,809 DHS employees who received LWA payments were ineligible or potentially ineligible and identified another 167 cases of suspected fraud involving the stolen identities of DHS employees.
WATCHDOG FINDS UP TO $45B SPENT ON FAKE COVID UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS: ‘SUBSTANTIAL LEVELS OF FRAUD’
A notice of closure is posted at The Great Frame Up in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, on April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File / AP Images)
In some cases, DHS employees reportedly used the department's own computer network to file for unemployment benefits.
Law enforcement officials have charged other federal employees with crimes related to COVID-19 pandemic fraud. In October, the Justice Department charged five former IRS employees with schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which were authorized under the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill signed by President Trump in 2020.
WATCHDOG FINDS UP TO $45B SPENT ON FAKE COVID UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS: ‘SUBSTANTIAL LEVELS OF FRAUD’
Michael Horowitz, chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, testifies during a House hearing on Capitol Hill on June 14, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Last June, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced charges against six former or current U.S. Postal Service workers who were accused of fraudulently seeking Small Business Administration (SBA) loans meant for pandemic relief.
Ernst, a top Republican on the Senate Small Business Committee, called these crimes a "scheme to rip off taxpayers."
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"I look forward to reviewing PACE’s findings regarding the number of federal employees who wrongfully received SBA loans when the project is completed and once again encourage you to conduct a similar review to identify how many federal employees applied for and received pandemic unemployment and lost wages assistance for which they were not eligible," she wrote.