Report says tens of billions in fraudulent unemployment benefits were claimed during height of COVID

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Millions of people relied on unemployment benefits during the height of COVID-19. Now, a government report says fraudulent claims total tens of billions of dollars.

During the worst of the pandemic, the government shelled out $4.6 trillion in funds from six different COVID-19 relief laws.

It was a lifeline for many people.

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But now, there’s new insight into the fraud associated with unemployment and members of congress are eager for answers.

Rep. Jody Hice from Georgia is one of them.

“The question is: What’s being done? “We don’t need more meetings. We need action,” Hice said.

The government accountability office which reports to congress agrees.

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The accountability office says the Department of Labor needs to do more to deal with this and develop a more specific strategy to handle fraud before it happens.

The Department of Labor says this is a priority, and they’re already in the process of making more changes.

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