Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force 2024 Report

Since its inception in May 2021, members of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force (CFETF) have used a full range of tools to hold accountable fraudsters and other criminals who sought to exploit the government’s pandemic response for their personal gain. This work has resulted in:

• More than 3,500 defendants charged with federal crimes.
• More than $1.4 billion in seizures and forfeiture orders to recover stolen CARES Act funds.
• More than 400 civil settlements and judgments.

To achieve these results, CFETF members have built a comprehensive program to identify fraud, recover assets, and hold wrongdoers accountable. This has included:

• Five prosecutorial COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Forces—based in California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida—with dedicated funding to pursue pandemic fraud.
• A first-of-its-kind National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force that leverages data from state workforce agencies and the Small Business Administration to identify those who exploited pandemic relief programs.
• A Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence that creates sophisticated data products designed to detect, deter, and stop pandemic fraud across multiple government agencies.

But our work isn’t done. To continue CFETF’s essential mission—and to ensure that COVID-19 fraudsters don’t get away with it—legislation is required. This includes:

• Extending the statute of limitations for all COVID-19 fraud-related offenses.
• Extending the statutory authorization for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), a body of 20 federal Inspectors General overseeing pandemic relief spending.
• Adequately resourcing COVID-19 anti-fraud efforts, including data sharing, lead development, criminal prosecutions, and asset recoveries.

To learn more, download CFETF’s 2024 Annual Report, available at justice.gov.