COVID-19 Economic Relief Packages Bring Fraud Risks

With so many government funds pouring into economies across the globe to mitigate the economic damage of COVID‑19, the potential for fraud and abuse is large. In this guest article, Frances McLeod, the founding partner of Forensic Risk Alliance, Joe Walker, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and Kristina Arianina, an associate at the firm, argue that with more than $2 trillion in aid being pumped into the U.S. economy, enforcement actions stemming from the misuse of these funds will likely surpass the current enforcement statistics. They detail the relief packages in the U.S. and abroad, and how the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the FCPA, in addition to securities fraud laws, mail and wire fraud laws may be implicated. Anti-corruption program assessment, they assert, is crucial. See “A Quick Guide to Getting Started With Compliance Program Metrics” (May 16, 2018).

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