A fact sheet from the Department of Justice announced last year:

• More than 3,500 defendants were charged with federal crimes.

• More than $1.4 billion in seizures and forfeiture orders to recover stolen Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds were filed.

• More than 400 civil settlements and judgments had been reached since a national COVID Fraud Task Force began investigating pandemic related fraud in 2021.

Due to the high volume of fraud, the statute of limitations for prosecuting COVID fraud was recently increased to 10 years instead of five.

The federal government allocated trillions of dollars to assist U.S. citizens, but as DOJ Prosecutor Carroll put it, “I have yet to see a government program that does not have some aspect of fraud.”

I guess one can bury his head in the sand and pretend fraud and waste are not a problem. That’s a choice. But that opinion wouldn’t be supported by facts and reason.