When politicians in Washington D.C. planned to infuse the economy with trillions of dollars in Wuhan coronavirus "relief funds," fiscal conservatives warned about the inevitability of widespread fraud and abuse.
Once again, they were correct. A new report from the Associated Press shows "pandemic relief" money, earned by hard working taxpayers, was used for over-the-top vacations, parties and other completely unrelated expenditures.
"Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a high-end hotel that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-square-foot spa," the Associated Press Reports. "In New York, Dutchess County pledged $12 million for renovations of a minor league baseball stadium to meet requirements the New York Yankees set for their farm teams."
"And in Massachusetts, lawmakers delivered $5 million to pay off debts of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston, a nonprofit established to honor the late senator that has struggled financially," the story continues. "The three distinctly different outlays have one thing in common: Each is among the scores of projects that state and local governments across the United States are funding with federal coronavirus relief money despite having little to do with combating the pandemic."
The IRS revealed this week that investigators have found nearly $2 billion in stimulus check fraud.
"The agency investigated 660 tax and money laundering cases related to COVID fraud, with alleged fraud in these cases totaling $1.8 billion. These cases included a broad range of criminal activity, including fraudulently obtained loans, credits and payments meant for American workers, families, and small businesses," the IRS released in a statement.
Meanwhile, the White House is demanding Congress allocate even more funding for the pandemic.
The WH insistence that Congress must urgently spend even more money on ‘COVID relief’, after authorizing nearly $6 trillion on that front already — much of it unrelated and unspent — is outright insulting. My comments on @FoxNewsSunday: pic.twitter.com/fTCAfB9Eyh
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 20, 2022