DOJ Charges 474 With COVID-Related Fraud in the Past Year

The seal of the United States Department of Justice is seen on the building exterior of the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, N.Y., on Aug. 17, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

The Department of Justice announced it has charged nearly 500 people with engaging in COVID-19 scams worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) has led a historic enforcement initiative to detect and disrupt COVID-19 related fraud schemes,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release on Friday, referring to the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. “The impact of the department’s work to date sends a clear and unmistakable message to those who would exploit a national emergency to steal taxpayer-funded resources from vulnerable individuals and small businesses.”