EPA’s internal watchdog is partnering with a collective of government investigators to fight fraud.
EPA’s Office of Inspector General announced Thursday that it has joined the Trade Fraud Task Force. The group, launched by the Justice and Homeland Security departments, targets trade law breaches, such as evading tariffs and mislabeling goods. It also looks at health and safety violations.
Earlier this year, the White House launched its fraud initiative, which has gone after fraudulent Medicaid payments, improper government loans and abuse of disaster relief funds. As part of this task force, the EPA inspector general office will dig into fraud schemes revolving around water infrastructure, pesticides, chemicals and other products regulated by the agency.
“Trade fraud…
Scammers capitalize on major disasters or heart-wrenching stories to solicit donations for non-existent charities. They often use names that are very similar to well-known, legitimate organizations to confuse donors.