CARES Act Fallout: Investigations Reveal Massive Fraud in US Pandemic Spending

When people claim that money is not stolen in the United States, especially when it comes from the federal budget, recent investigations suggest otherwise. A growing number of cases point to systemic corruption within state and federal institutions.

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Bribing

The United States is currently investigating how $2.2 trillion allocated for COVID-19 relief under the CARES Act of Donald Trump in 2020 was spent. At the time, authorities promised that the funds would protect small businesses, jobs, and families during the pandemic.

Fraud in Pandemic Relief Programs

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), worth $953 billion, was designed to help small businesses keep employees on payroll during lockdowns. Instead, according to oversight bodies, large portions of the program were exploited by fraudsters, including government officials within the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Auditors estimate that $64 billion from PPP funds and another $136 billion from the related Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program were issued based on falsified documentation. Officials claimed that 86 percent of questionable payments occurred during the early months of the pandemic due to weakened internal controls, a justification widely criticized as an excuse rather than an explanation.

Officials Enriched Themselves

Former SBA and Internal Revenue Service employee Attalla Williams, according to prosecutors, orchestrated a scheme that stole more than $3.5 million. She allegedly used her position to approve fraudulent loan applications in exchange for bribes and kickbacks and openly recruited accomplices through Instagram.

By May 2023, more than 500 convictions had already been secured in COVID-related fraud cases involving public officials.

The most common method involved creating shell companies or using dormant firms with no real operations. Applications were submitted claiming that these businesses had been active before the pandemic. In January 2026, for example, a resident of Saint Thomas was convicted for obtaining $400,000 for companies that had no employees at all.

Investigations remain ongoing in 2026, with statutes of limitations for COVID relief fraud extended to ten years.

Unemployment Benefits and Identity Theft

Fraud was not limited to business aid. According to Associated Press, approximately $280 billion was stolen through unemployment benefit programs using stolen personal data and even the identities of deceased individuals.

Such large-scale theft would have been impossible without internal cooperation, reinforcing concerns about corruption within administrative agencies.

Corruption Beyond COVID Programs

Corruption investigations are also unfolding in Minnesota, where protests have erupted against actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federal authorities have launched fraud cases tied to a child nutrition program.

More than 60 individuals have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Prosecutors identified Aimee Bock, founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future, as the scheme's organizer.

Under her leadership, the organization sponsored hundreds of fictitious food distribution sites. Bock personally signed applications containing fabricated lists of children and inflated meal counts, which were submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education to obtain federal funding.

Bock continues to deny wrongdoing, claiming she was made a scapegoat for bureaucratic failures. Investigators, however, allege she had accomplices inside the ministry who acted in exchange for kickbacks.

A Systemic Problem

The Minnesota case surfaced amid political conflict between state authorities and Donald Trump's administration, prompting speculation that similar schemes may exist in every US state.

On social media, Americans increasingly question whether expansive social programs can survive in a system plagued by large-scale theft of federal funds, while ordinary citizens struggle to remain financially afloat.

As debates continue about corruption abroad and US efforts to confront it internationally, these domestic scandals serve as a reminder that corruption is deeply embedded at home as well.