US Labor Watchdog Says $46.5Bln Stolen From Pandemic-Related Relief Program Since 2020

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Labor's Inspector General revealed on Thursday that it discovered $46.5 billion was stolen from a pandemic-related relief program since March 2020.

"The DOL-OIG [Labor Department's Office of Inspector General] also issued an Alert Memorandum identifying $45.6 billion in potentially fraudulent UI [unemployment insurance] benefits paid to individuals," the Inspector General's office said in a press release.

More than 1,000 individuals in the United States have been charged with crimes connected to unemployment insurance fraud since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the release said.

These charged individuals allegedly used a number of fraudulent tactics to receive unemployment insurance benefits, including using social security numbers of dead people and prisoners, the release said.

The US government will continue to seek individuals that abused pandemic relief programs, the release said.