The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a trio of strike force groups tasked with expanding the department’s ongoing fraud prevention efforts related to COVID-19.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles will collaborate as one team while strike force teams will also operate out of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Southern District of Florida and the District of Maryland.
“The work being done by our prosecutors, trial attorneys, agents and partners on our COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force has been extraordinary,” said Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers, the Justice Department’s director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement. “We’re going a step further … with the announcement of strike force teams to support, enhance, and continue the great work being done across the department.”
Multiple Bay Area residents have been convicted in federal court for COVID-related fraud, largely among those who have wrongly claimed to be able to treat a COVID infection or effectively test for the virus.
Earlier this month, a federal jury convicted Mark Schena, the president of a Sunnyvale-based allergy and COVID testing company, for engaging in a scheme to defraud investors.
Schena claimed his company could test for diseases using a few drops of blood and told investors that the company was valued at $4.5 billion when it was actually on the verge of bankruptcy.
Federal prosecutors also secured a guilty plea in April from a Napa woman who allegedly sold fake COVID immunization pills and allegedly forged U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards.
The woman is set to be sentenced in November on one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements regarding health care.
Federal prosecutors with the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was formed in May 2021, have also investigated fraud complaints involving the Paycheck Protection Program, pandemic-related unemployment insurance and other health care fraud.
“Since the start of this pandemic, the Justice Department has seized over $1.2 billion in relief funds that criminals were attempting to steal and charged over 1,500 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country, but our work is far from over,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The department will continue to work relentlessly to combat pandemic fraud and hold accountable those who perpetrate it.”
10 comments
Wow!
Not surprised about this kind of crap happening.
Taking advantage to scheme off this pandemic.
Glad the fraud is being caught.
Sad some people got scammed.
“ our work is far from over” said Garland.
Your work will be coming to a swift end Nov 8, rat face. You will be impeached and investigated for criminal negligence and the failure to perform your duty according to the oath of office.
I wonder if this investigation will include the fraud of the President and of Dr. Fauci telling the American people that if we get the shot, we would not get Covid?
I was thinking similar things. Then I thought, they are only going after these folks because they do not like the competition.
*relax folks, covid was/is real. I just believe that our ‘leaders’ defrauded us with their response to the event.*
And all the quacks who went along with this garbage.
‘bout 2 years too late …
More gestapo language. Reminds me of the “door knockers” they tried last year.
Will this “strike force” (Lol) be going after the Biggest frauds: Moderna, Pfizer and Janssen? The biggest promoters of mis-information.
I wonder if the feds will look at the feds?
LOL
No
The governemt is unprosecutable in the eyes of the DOJ.
The governmnet is the most corrupt and faudulant group in our Republic.
Hey!! DOJ!!! Gotta HOT tip for you:
Who else remembers Pharoah Newsom’s sketchy mask deal with CCP for worthless Covid masks, using your money.. repeat: YOUR MONEY.
“Very few details…”
“Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to spend almost $1 billion in taxpayer funds to buy protective masks drew national attention as an aggressive move by California to solve one of the most nagging problems of the coronavirus crisis.
But almost two weeks after he announced the deal during a cable TV interview, very few details have been disclosed. The governor’s advisors have so far declined requests for information about the agreement with BYD, the Chinese electric car manufacturer hired to produce the masks, though the state has already wired the company the first installment of $495 million.”
Then, Pharoah Newsom sent YOUR MONEY to thousands of inmates, who then scammed the Pharoah (or maybe not) for Billions of YOUR DOLLARS. And kept ALL of it hidden from you.
Pharoah Newsom has visions of the U.S. Presidency. No worries, he’s “got” the votes.
The way some people vote is simply nauseating.
LA Times:
Newsom’s secretive $1-billion mask deal with Chinese automaker sparks bipartisan concerns…and then there’s:
https://news.yahoo.com/newsoms-secretive-1-billion-mask-190626226.html
So the Paycheck Protection Program was also mentioned, I hope they go after the businesses that applied, gote it, and didn’t shutdown, such as Gov saying he didn’t know his sister applied, well their business were never closed. I’m sure there were more- I’m just sad for the friends who lost businesses and didn’t get the relief.
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