The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Identifies Five COVID-era “Emergency” Contracts Disbursing Money Years After Pandemic End
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is announcing that it has identified more than $1.2 billion in suspected fraud across five COVID-related contracts as part of its collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the direction of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Although the COVID-19 national emergency ended in 2023 and related GSA acquisition flexibilities were cancelled later that year, certain federal contractors continued to receive funds.
“The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars….
This type of fraud targets the supply chain and accounts payable departments of businesses.
- Invoice Manipulation: Criminals intercept a legitimate invoice between a supplier and a client and change the banking details to their own. The client pays the bill thinking they are paying their trusted vendor.
- Kickbacks and Bribery: A vendor secretly pays an employee of the purchasing company to ensure their bid is successful or to overlook inflated pricing.