Jane Edwards
The White House has presented a $1.6 billion proposal to counter systemic pandemic fraud and support measures to prevent identity theft.
The Pandemic Anti-Fraud proposal is composed of three parts and the first one seeks to spend $600 million on efforts to investigate and prosecute those involved in systemic pandemic fraud, the White House said Thursday.
The U.S. government also plans to invest $600 million in initiatives meant to prevent fraud and identity theft and allocate another $400 million to help victims of identity theft.
For the first part of the proposal, key measures include expanding the COVID-19 fraud strike force teams to recover stolen funds, increasing statute of limitations to 10 years for systemic pandemic fraud including unemployment insurance programs and providing at least $300 million for the Pandemic Inspectors General and Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s investigative staff.
The Biden administration’s proposed identity theft prevention investments include the expansion of the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence and the Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay Service and modernization of agency identity verification systems.
The proposal also includes piloting an identity theft early warning system and offering grants to victims of identity theft.
Haywood Talcove, CEO of the government business at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, told NBC News in a statement that he is “very excited” about the administration’s Pandemic Anti-Fraud proposal.
“Focusing on data-sharing between agencies and states while enhancing front-end identity protection will improve the experience of those using government services while reducing the amount of time law enforcement spends investigating these crimes,” said Talcove, a three-time Wash100 awardee.
