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COVID fraud cases continue to grow
Genevieve Curtis reports
TAMPA, Fla. - In the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic relief arrived in the form of government programs.
Programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Unemployment Insurance and others, helped families and business stay afloat. But, some people took advantage of the system, getting thousands and sometimes millions of dollars and spending it on lavish lifestyles.
Federal investigators said those cases continue to grow.
Pictured: Tampa's top federal prosecutor, Roger Handberg, speaking with FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis.
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U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg is Tampa's top federal prosecutor who represents the Middle District of Florida and leads the area's COVID Fraud Task Force. His office was the first in the country to take a COVID fraud case to trial – and won.
They’ve prosecuted 77 people from the Tampa Bay area who defrauded the government of $85 million.
"It is a program that was created and intended to help this country when it really needed it. And it's galling. It’s galling to have people who take advantage of that," said Handberg.
Fraudsters spent on lavish lifestyles, which included buying boats, motorcycles, million-dollar homes, horses, cars and even a four-carat engagement ring.
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A Seminole County man used $7.2 million to buy a multi-million-dollar home and a Fort Myers couple raked in $3.4 million and bought three pontoon boats among other lavish purchases.
"Some of the most egregious things we see are the spending," said Handberg. "If you're buying a house that's a multimillion-dollar house, if you're buying a car that's an expensive car. You know, you're not doing that to feed your family or to do anything like that. You're just doing it out of greed."
While greed may be the motivation, Handberg said they found COVID fraud intimately intertwined with other criminal activity.
"We've got people who are engaged in firearms trafficking. We have criminal organizations that are involved in shootings. We had a doctor who had a suspended license, and was still distributing drugs," said Handberg.
His office has prosecuted cases involving a few thousand dollars all the way up to multi-million-dollar cases. The one thing they have in common, he said, is that the fraud was deliberate.
As for recovering the $85 million, Handberg said they've seized jewelry, homes and boats all in an effort to return taxpayer money.
"A lot of times the money is gone, but I can assure people that we've got a very aggressive asset recovery division," Handberg said. "We’re going to do our part to try to hold those individuals accountable and get the funds back, for the people of the United States."
The case load for the task force continues to grow so much so that Handberg just added a prosecutor in Tampa solely to handle these cases. It comes as two recent federal audits estimate the magnitude of COVID fraud at $300 billion.
"That would suggest that we have a lot more work to do," he said.
And, Handberg's task force will have more time to do it.
President Joe Biden and congress extended the statute of limitations on these cases by five years, which means the task force’s work in Florida is far from finished.
"I would say, ‘stay tuned,' because we continue to get leads on these cases," said Handberg.