In October 2023, after a judge sentenced Ilori to 25 years - at the time, the harshest punishment for a pandemic fraud case - U.S. Attorney Damian Williams thanked the usual partners in law enforcement, including the FBI and the NYPD. But Williams also expressed gratitude to an agency, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which is so little-known that the press release announcing Ilori's conviction used a footnote to explain what it was: a small office in the Justice Department established by Congress in 2020 to track fraud related to the $5 trillion the government lent or spent to help Americans survive COVID-19.
Created by the Trump-era CARES Act with a fiscal 2024 budget of $40 million, the scam-hunting agency has made notable strides in combatting a problem that has befuddled other watchdogs - the massive amount of "Improper" payments dispensed by the federal government each year.
The federal government estimates that nearly 6% of its total spending has gone to improper payments during Biden's presidency, according to OpenTheBooks.com.
The amount tops the $673 billion in improper payments made during the four years of the Trump administration, which were about 5% of government outlays, the watchdog group said.
Improper payments were $453 billion and $512 billion during Obama's two terms in office, respectively, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Since 2003, when the government first started tracking improper payments, it is estimated that they have added up to more than $2.7 trillion, according to paymentaccuracy.
Linda Miller, co-founder and chair of the Program Integrity Alliance, a good-government group, told Congress that in addition to limiting improper payments and fraud, "Increased data use can also significantly reduce administrative burdens on honest Americans who deserve efficient interactions with the government."
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