State and Local Governments Have Billions Left to Spend in Pandemic Aid; 17 Broward Sheriff’s Employees Face Charges of Fleecing Federal Pandemic Loan Program , and other C-Virus related stories
State and Local Governments Have Billions Left to Spend in Pandemic Aid:
Two years after the federal government approved $350 billion in emergency funding for states and localities to respond to the public health crisis, much of the funds have not been used.
A year after the Covid-19 pandemic’s onset, the federal government approved $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments to maintain vital services and provide aid to families and businesses. Even after the public health emergency has officially ended, much of the funds have yet to be spent.
State and local governments had spent less than half of the funds as of March 31, the most recent data available, according to a Government Accountability Office report released on Wednesday.
States had spent 45 percent, or $88.2 billion, and made commitments for 60 percent, or $118.3 billion, of the money, according to the report. Local governments had spent 38 percent and committed 54 percent.
Some local governments have also failed to report their spending to the Treasury Department, which oversees the funding. About 14 percent of localities, which collectively received $3 billion, did not submit mandatory reports on how they have used the funds as of the end of March, the Government Accountability Office found. In August, Treasury officials sent notices of noncompliance to most of those localities.
The $350 billion was included in the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that also provided direct aid to households and small businesses struggling to recover during the pandemic. The money was meant to prevent painful budget cuts, which state and local governments had to make after revenues plunged and costs spiked in the Great Recession more than a decade ago. That prolonged the nation’s recovery and constrained some local economies for years. —>READ MORE HERE
17 Broward sheriff’s employees face charges of fleecing federal pandemic loan program:
The headquarters of the Broward Sheriff’s Office closed its front doors to the public early Thursday morning as a group of BSO deputies and corrections officers turned themselves in after being charged with ripping off a federal government loan program meant to help businesses that struggled to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A sign said the agency’s entrance was temporarily closed and yellow cones blocked the path to its front door.
Later that morning, 17 BSO employees appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court on charges of fleecing the Paycheck Protection Program, the main pandemic relief benefit for struggling businesses. Almost all were charged in separate indictments with wire fraud, all received bonds, and almost all were scheduled for arraignments later this month.
“It’s all very disappointing,” BSO Sheriff Gregory Tony said during an afternoon news conference at the agency’s headquarters, noting that the accused BSO employees have been suspended and will be fired. “This is theft from the American people.”
Among the multiple pandemic loan fraud cases: BSO deputy Keith Mahlon Dunkley stands accused of setting up a company called Global Group Alliances and submitting two falsified applications for COVID-19 relief loans. He pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors say his company lied about its income on loan applications and submitted a fabricated IRS tax return with them. As a result, Dunkley’s business received a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $18,540 and another under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for $17,500 during the pandemic. The loans were small because of caps on a business with a sole proprietor.
Dunkley’s case was similar to the others filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. In total, the BSO employees received about $500,000 from the PPP and EIDL programs approved by Congress as part of the CARES Act after the pandemic swept the nation in March 2020. —>READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
Cory Franklin: What is the mortality of COVID-19?
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USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
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NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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