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Comparing the Impact of COVID-19 on Death Rates During Certain Months of 2019 and 2020
Representative John Barker requested this limited-scope audit, which was authorized by the Legislative Post Audit Committee at its February 24, 2021 meeting. Our audit objective was to answer the following question: How did causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic compare to those before the pandemic? To answer this question, we reviewed death record data from 2019 and 2020 for the last third of each year (September 1 – December 31).
Data Bulletin: An Examination of Coronavirus Relief Funds Allocated to Kentucky
The purpose of this report is to inform and update the public about the status and use of Kentucky’s Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) provided to state and local governments in Kentucky. The information provided is from agencies or officials other than the APA, unless indicated otherwise. Therefore, the data being made available has not been audited by the APA. This report is intended to generate further discussion and public interest as to Kentucky’s use of CRF money.
State High Risk State Management of Federal COVID-19 Funding
This letter report identifies 18 state agencies that will each be responsible for managing a portion of the federal COVID‑19 funds. Before finalizing our determination to add this issue to the state high risk list, we notified the 18 responsible state agencies about our preliminary determination and invited them to provide their perspective on the issue. We received responses from 12 of the 18 state agencies, and we summarize those responses at the end of this letter.
State High Risk Update—Coronavirus Relief Fund California Should Have Allocated More Funding to Small Counties
This letter report provides an update on our assessment of the State’s management of federal funds related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a high risk statewide issue.
Homelessness in California: The State's Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts
We conducted an audit of five local governments who play a key role in a Continuum of Care (CoC). Our assessment of CoC agencies—groups of organizations, including local government agencies and homeless service providers, that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to work toward ending homelessness within specified geographic areas—focused on best practices related to homeless services. In general, we determined that the State continues to struggle to coordinate its efforts to address homelessness, and CoCs do not always comply with federal regulations or...
Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of Facilities' COVID-19 Pandemic Readiness and Response in Veterans Integrated Service Network 19
This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program (CHIP) report provides a focused evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19 facilities’ COVID-19 pandemic readiness and response. This evaluation focused on emergency preparedness; supplies, equipment, and infrastructure; staffing; access to care; community living center patient care and operations; facility staff feedback; and VA and VISN 19 vaccination efforts.The OIG has aggregated findings on COVID-19 preparedness and responsiveness from routine inspections to ensure prompt dissemination of...
Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty To Filing Fraudulent Claims For Over $250,000 In Unemployment Insurance Benefits Through Mail Fraud Scheme
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today to filing two dozen fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, which were approved for more than $250,000 in unemployment benefits from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) and California Employment Development Department (EDD).
Fort Myers Businessman Sentenced To Three Years In Federal Prison For COVID Relief Fraud And Mortgage Fraud
Fort Myers, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge John Steele has sentenced Casey David Crowther (35, Fort Myers) to three years and one month in federal prison for two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making a false statement to a lending institution, and two counts of money laundering. The court also ordered Crowther to forfeit $2,739,081.21, $630,482.37, and a 40’ catamaran boat, which were the proceeds of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud and the mortgage fraud offenses.
Four L.A. County Residents Found Guilty of Fraudulently Obtaining Millions of Dollars from COVID-Relief Programs
A federal jury has found four Los Angeles-area residents guilty of criminal charges for scheming to submit fraudulent loan applications seeking millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds.
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Stealing $24 Million in COVID-19 Relief Money Through Fraud Scheme that Used Synthetic Identities
Today, Hasan Hakim Brown, 45, pled guilty in Ft. Lauderdale federal district court to working with co-conspirators to steal $24 million of COVID-19 relief money by using synthetic identities and shell companies they had created years earlier to commit other bank fraud.
Nigerian National indicted in Washington State for fraud on COVID-19 economic relief programs
Seattle – A Nigerian citizen has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and multiple counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
CMS’s Controls Related to Hospital Preparedness for an Emerging Infectious Disease Were Well-Designed and Implemented but Its Authority Is Not Sufficient for It To Ensure Preparedness at Accredited Hospitals
Hospitals that cannot control the spread of emerging infectious diseases within their facilities risk spreading a disease such as COVID-19 to patients and staff. OIG therefore developed a plan to assess the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’s) controls related to hospital preparedness for emerging infectious diseases.The objective of this audit was to determine whether CMS designed and implemented effective internal controls related to hospital preparedness for emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
Trotwood woman sentenced to prison for accepting Social Security payments, COVID-19 stimulus money on behalf of deceased brother
DAYTON, Ohio – Karen Lamb, 61, of Trotwood, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six months in prison followed by six months in home detention for stealing Social Security benefits and COVID-19 stimulus money in the name of her deceased brother. Lamb was also ordered to repay the money she stole.
COVID-19 Leave Administration
Our objective was to assess the Postal Service’s management of its employees’ use of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Although the FFCRA expired on December 31, 2020, the Postal Service continued to allow liberal leave usage for employees who had a sickness related to COVID‑19. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law. This Act is similar to the FFCRA in that it created a new type of leave. Effective March 12, 2021, and continuing through September 30, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act provides...
Federal Student Aid’s Suspension of Involuntary Collection in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
The objective of our review was to evaluate the results of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) process for suspending involuntary collection and refunding payments involuntarily collected on defaulted Department-held loans in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.We found that FSA suspended administrative wage garnishments and the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) offsets for over 96 percent of the borrowers that FSA collected payments for within 90 days of March 13, 2020, the start of the suspension period. However, as of October 23, 2020, we found that FSA continued to receive administrative...
The Bureau of Land Management’s COVID-19 Response at Recreation Management Areas
We reviewed the actions the BLM has taken to protect its employees, volunteers, and the visiting public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3 Inland Empire Women Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud for Illegally Obtaining COVID-Related Jobless Benefits in Prison Inmates’ Names
Three Inland Empire women have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges accusing them of using information belonging to other people – including California state prison inmates – to file for pandemic-related unemployment benefits, with each defendant causing at least $350,000 in losses.
Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor Contract Emergency Supply Strategies Available Before the COVID-19 Pandemic
VA medical facilities’ demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ensured the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor-Next Generation (MSPV-NG) program and its prime vendors met contract requirements by offering medical facilities a no-cost option to develop advance-order supply lists tailored to catastrophic events and contingency plans. The OIG also assessed whether facilities took advantage of those options and strategies and relied on the contracts...
Two Charged as Co-Conspirators for Nearly $1 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme and Money Laundering
A New York man and an Oklahoma woman were arrested Wednesday in Buffalo, New York and Altus, Oklahoma, respectively, on a criminal complaint filed in the Western District of New York charging them for their roles in fraudulently obtaining and laundering nearly $1 million in funds from the COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Review of VHA’s Financial Oversight of COVID-19 Supplemental Funds
In response to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) tracking and reporting of COVID-19 supplemental funding from legislation for pandemic relief.VA met monthly reporting requirements to OMB and Congress on supplemental fund obligations and expenditures. VA also submitted required weekly obligations and expenditures from supplemental funding to OMB by program activity. Of approximately $17.3 billion in medical care supplemental funds, VA reported it had obligated about $7.11...
Treasury Has Been Effective at Shifting the Hardest Hit Fund To Assist Homeowners Suffering Pandemic-Related Hardships, Efforts That Could Be Further Enhanced
Evaluation report on Treasury's effectiveness in shifting the Hardest Hit Fund to help homeowners suffering from unemployment a loss of income or other hardships related to the pandemic.
Survey of Farm Credit Administration Employees on COVID-19
Inspection report on OIG's survey of FCA employees on the safety measures and other actions implemented by FCA in response to COVID-19
NOAA Fisheries Implemented the Requirements for Awarding Funds Under the CARES Act but Faces Challenges with the Pace of Funds Disbursement to Fishery Participants
For our evaluation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, also known as NOAA Fisheries) plan for the implementation of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding, our objective was to determine whether NOAA complied with the requirements of the CARES Act. Specifically, we determined (1) what steps NOAA took in implementing the requirements for awarding funds, (2) challenges NOAA faced during implementation, and (3) NOAA’s current status in processing applications and award funds under the CARES Act...
Use and Oversight of the Emergency Caches Were Limited during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The OIG assessed how effectively VA managed its emergency caches during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. These caches contain a standard supply of drugs and medical supplies, including some personal protective equipment, for use during a public health emergency.The review team found that use and oversight of the emergency caches were limited. Only nine of 144 medical facilities activated their emergency caches during the review period (February through June 2020). Among the reasons they were not used included medical facility directors reporting supplies were not needed...
Hospital Pharmacist Sentenced for Attempt to Spoil Hundreds of COVID Vaccine Doses
A Wisconsin man was sentenced today to three years in prison for tampering with COVID-19 vaccine doses at the hospital where he worked.
Lewis Center man pleads guilty to COVID-relief fraud scheme & laundering more than $2.4M related to online romance scams
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Lewis Center man pleaded guilty in federal court today for his role in conspiring to launder the proceeds of online romance scams for roughly two years. He also admitted to fraudulently misapplying CARES Act loan funds to buy himself boats while out on release from his initial charges.
EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory Has Taken Steps to Mitigate Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on Mobile Source Emission Compliance
This report examines the EPA’s activities to oversee mobile source compliance with clean air laws and regulations during the coronavirus pandemic. It highlights National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory’s efforts to minimize the potential for noncompliance during the pandemic and the importance of returning to full testing capacity to provide the most effective oversight.