IRS employees rip off COVID relief programs, splurge on trips, shopping sprees, DOJ alleges
With a combined $418,125 in fraudulently obtained loans, agency employees allegedly treated themselves to everything from fine jewelry, spa visits and Gucci accessories to a Mercedes and jaunts to Vegas.
By Mary Lou Lang
Updated: October 29, 2022 - 11:11pm
The Golden Horseshoe is a weekly designation from Just The News intended to highlight egregious examples of wasteful taxpayer spending by the government. The award is named for the horseshoe-shaped toilet seats for military airplanes that cost the Pentagon a whopping $640 each back in the 1980s.This week's Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the SBA for approving more than $400,000 in COVID relief loans to five current or former IRS employees who allegedly used the proceeds to purchase spa services, cars, jewelry and travel, according to the Department of Justice.
The IRS employees — one former and four current — allegedly submitted fraudulent loan applications through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs in schemes seeking to obtain a combined $1.1 million in loans, the government spending watchdog OpenTheBooks.com reported.
The five alleged fraudsters were approved for a combined $418,125 in loans, individually receiving between $27,550 and $171,400.
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https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/sunirs-employees-rip-covid-relief-programs-splurge-trips
