The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report indicating that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may have been double-billed for the funerals of hundreds of persons who succumbed to COVID-19.
The GAO discovered 374 people who died and were included on multiple COVID-19 Funeral Assistance fund applications. According to the report, this equates to nearly $4.8 million in assistance that could have been erroneous or even fraudulent payments.
According to FEMA spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg, this was not a case of major fraud, and the amount of funeral assistance identified as at-risk was relatively minor, as per a CBS News report. This is due to FEMA's "multi-layered internal quality controls and fraud controls" that led to improper payments of below 1%.
In a statement, Rothenberg admitted that "fraud, particularly identity theft, is common," but FEMA can detect instances "and can and will prosecute anyone who would apply for assistance fraudulently."
What Happened?
The report said that FEMA informed the GAO that some duplicative applications were wrongly awarded funeral assistance due to processing problems. Benefits were not paid twice in some circumstances.
According to Chris Currie, who leads GAO's work on emergency management and disaster response and recovery, and Rebecca Shea, who oversees GAO audits to identify fraud, waste, and abuse, the cases have been sent to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which will decide whether to start any fraud investigations.
Shea stated that they were unable to confirm whether FEMA paid twice in all of the cases. She believes scammers targeted the fund and that some of the issues are due to data input errors.
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Meanwhile, a report released by federal investigators said that the multibillion-dollar funeral assistance program for COVID-19 victims reimbursed families for some ineligible items such as flowers, catering, and transportation, according to a Virginian Pilot report.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the program, received a "management alert" from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general's office.
It requested that FEMA's administrator change the agency's operational procedures to conform to long-standing policy.
"FEMA is putting millions of taxpayer dollars at an elevated risk of waste and abuse by reimbursing funeral expenses identified as ineligible by its own policies," the inspector general's report stated.
FEMA stated on Wednesday that it had granted more than $2.1 billion to more than 355,000 people.
What Are the Services Covered by the Assistance Program?
Funeral services, cremation, and interment are all covered under the FEMA program, as are the costs of caskets or urns, burial plots or cremation niches, markers or headstones, transportation or transfer of remains, clergy or officiant services, and the use of funeral home equipment or personnel, per NPR report.
The program is supported by government stimulus funds, which are still available. Though, there are no online applications accepted.
According to FEMA, determining eligibility normally takes less than 30 days once all necessary documents are submitted and validated. Applicants who prefer direct deposit may get funds within days once their eligibility is confirmed. Applicants who want a check may have to wait longer.
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