Agency That Successfully Prosecuted Pandemic Fraud Is Casualty of Trump’s Cuts
A specialized unit had only 14 federal agents pursuing pandemic-related fraud cases involving billions of dollars. In less than five years it recovered hundreds of millions, with nearly a 100 percent conviction rate—then was shuttered by DOGE on March 28.
| 31 Mar 2025 | 01:19
A small force of 14 federal agents pursuing the billions ripped off from the US Government during the pandemic was shut down by DOGE on March 28. The agency had already recovered more than three times its annual budget and had nearly a 100 percent conviction rate against fraud perpetrators in federal court. (
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A little-known agency of the US Government was shuttered last week. It went largely unnoticed amidst the deluge of reports of agency closures by DOGE. That’s too bad because the agency, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), accomplished tremendous things in its brief five-year existence.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began and businesses throughout the country began closing, Congress passed the CARES Act and opened the spigot on trillions in federal relief funds disbursed through various programs including the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, Main Street Lending Program, and enhanced Unemployment Insurance. These programs were a lifeline to many Americans facing desperate circumstances.
Along with these benefit programs, Congress also created a watchdog, SIGPR, to keep on eye on this huge disbursement of federal funds. By the time the Senate confirmed Brian Miller as the Inspector General of SIGPR in July of 2020, millions of dollars in relief funds were already flowing out from the US Treasury. Setting up a federal law-enforcement agency from scratch would normally take months, if not years, and as a former federal prosecutor, Miller knew he did not have that much time. He obtained special hiring authority to rehire retired agents and prosecutors with expertise in fraud and money-laundering investigations. In a short time, Miller assembled an elite team of professionals. Despite having only 14 agents at its peak, SIGPR achieved incredible results. In fact, the funds they recovered were three times greater than their entire budget. Here are just a few of the headlines from their cases:
*Eight Defendants Plead Guilty in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Benefit Scheme—Nine Others Charged
*Two Men Sentenced to Six Years for $7.6 Million COVID Fraud Scheme
Elon Musk and his minions at DOGE, the “Department of Government Efficiency,” would have you believe they are the first to identify and eliminate waste in government, but that is not true. Congress enacted the Inspector General Act in 1978 and appointed independent watchdogs, the federal IGs, to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in the US Government. Since then, these IG’s have recovered billions for US taxpayers, identified efficiencies saving billions more, and locked up thousands of individuals who abused the public trust and stole government funds from US taxpayers. These IG cases range from prosecuting military contractors who provided substandard parts for military equipment thus endangering our fighting forces, to physicians who stole millions from healthcare programs created to care for the poor, elderly, and federal employees injured in the line of duty. Their IG audit reports are prepared to the highest industry standards and their criminal and civil recoveries are held to the exacting constitutional standards of our federal courts. The agents, auditors, and attorneys of the federal IG’s are highly trained professionals who devoted their professional lives to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and that those who steal taxpayer dollars are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Here are just of few of the recent cases prosecuted by the America’s IGs:
*Arizona Brothers Plead Guilty for Roles in Conspiracies to Fraudulently Obtain Nearly $109 Million in COVID-Relief Funds (Small Business Administration)
*New York Man Sentenced for Distributing Drugs in Exchange for Food Stamps (Department ofAgriculture)
*Defense Contractor Executive Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme Involving $100 Million in Government Contracts (Department of Defense)
*Medicare Advantage Provider Seoul Medical Group and Related Parties to Pay Over $62M to Settle False Claims Act Suit (Health & Human Services)
*Hampton Woman Pleads Guilty to $161 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme (Housing & Urban Development)
*McKinsey & Company Agreed to Pay $650 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations (Veterans Affairs)
What do these IG’s have in common? They were all fired by President Trump for “poor performance.” When Abraham Lincoln decided to appoint Ulysses Grant as commander of the entire US Army during the Civil War, his advisers warned him that Grant had a drinking problem. Lincoln reportedly responded: “Find out what whiskey he’s drinking and send a bottle to each of my generals.” I think the federal government could do with a little more “poor performance.”