Nearly $100 billion of COVID-relief funds have been fraudulently obtained in the US since the government rolled out the benefits during the pandemic, officials said.

The Secret Service revealed the massive figure in a Tuesday press release announcing the existence of new measures to capture cheats and seize the stolen funds.

The U.S. Secret Service has named Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAIC) Roy Dotson of the Jacksonville field office as the National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator. In this role, ASAIC Dotson will coordinate efforts across multiple ongoing Secret Service investigations into the fraudulent use of COVID-19 relief applications.

“The Secret Service has seen a huge uptick in electronic crime in furtherance of these fraud cases,” Dotson continued. “Criminals will often ask potential victims to open an account and move money for them for some reason as part of a ruse.” Fraudsters, for example, prey on people by engaging them online as part of a romance scam, phony job opportunity or other scheme, and then asking for financial favors. “Targeted individuals are often asked to open bank accounts and accept large sum deposits,” Dotson said. “As a result, people are becoming unwitting mules for stolen money.”

While fraud related to personal protective equipment (PPE) was of primary concern to law enforcement, including the Secret Service, early in the pandemic, the release of federal funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act has attracted the attention of individuals and organized criminal networks worldwide. The exploitation of pandemic-related relief is an investigative priority for the Secret Service and its partners.

As part of his duties as National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator, ASAIC Dotson will coordinate with financial institutions and money services businesses, United States Attorney Offices, and other federal agencies regarding large-scale seizures of illicitly obtained pandemic relief funds. This includes unemployment insurance (UI), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan and grant programs, and other benefit programs.

“The Secret Service currently has more than 900 active criminal investigations into fraud specific to pandemic-related relief funds,” said Dotson.  “That’s a combination of pandemic benefits and all the other benefits programs too. Every state has been hit, some harder than others. The Secret Service is hitting the ground running, trying to recover everything we can, including funds stolen from both federal and state programs.”

To date, Secret Service investigations and investigative inquiries into UI and SBA loan fraud have resulted in the seizure of more than $1.2 billion and the return of more than $2.3 billion of fraudulently obtained funds via Automated Clearing House reversals.

These investigations have led to the arrest of 100 individuals responsible for UI and SBA loan fraud. The Secret Service continues to work closely with the U.S. Department of Labor and SBA Offices of Inspectors General (OIG), and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) on identifying and preventing these crimes.