Update - 3/11/21 - America Rescue Plan Bill is signed!

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

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Evangelical Christians and small-government activists, among the fiercest critics of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Congress, are finding solace in $1,400 stimulus checks that some are sharing with churches and political causes.

 

In a January Bible study livestream, Virginia pastor E.W. Jackson said a pair of Georgians headed for the U.S. Senate were “demoniacally possessed” and their fellow Democrats were “cursing” the country by supporting abortion access and gay rights. Newly minted senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were key to Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which passed the evenly divided Senate with no Republican support.

 

But as the stimulus checks they enabled arrive, Jackson, said his followers should have no qualms about accepting the Democrats’ largess -- and passing 10% to his ministry, the 100-member Called Church of Chesapeake.

 

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[China]

Biden admin sued for pushing white men to ‘back of the line’ for COVID aid

 

A Wisconsin group is suing the Biden administration on behalf of a Tennessee business owner, claiming that it is giving preference to restaurants and bars owned by women and minorities for COVID relief funds — adding that white men are being “pushed to the back of the line” for assistance, according to a report.

 

The lawsuit, which names Small Business Association Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, was filed for Antonio Vitolo, the owner of Jake’s Bar and Grill in Harriman, Tenn., Fox 17 in Nashville reported.

 

It was filed in federal court in Tennessee by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and targets the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which is only processing applications from “priority groups” — women, veterans, or “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” — between May 3 and May 24.

 

Broader eligibility for assistance opens up after that period.

 

Vitolo said he applied for the COVID aid on May 3 but was told he didn’t qualify because he is white, the suit says.

 

It claims the distinctions are unconstitutional and calls on the administration to halt the payments until an equitable system is in place for distributing them, like first-come, first-served.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Ball Security]

5 minutes ago, China said:

Biden admin sued for pushing white men to ‘back of the line’ for COVID aid

 

A Wisconsin group is suing the Biden administration on behalf of a Tennessee business owner, claiming that it is giving preference to restaurants and bars owned by women and minorities for COVID relief funds — adding that white men are being “pushed to the back of the line” for assistance, according to a report.

 

The lawsuit, which names Small Business Association Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, was filed for Antonio Vitolo, the owner of Jake’s Bar and Grill in Harriman, Tenn., Fox 17 in Nashville reported.

 

It was filed in federal court in Tennessee by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and targets the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which is only processing applications from “priority groups” — women, veterans, or “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” — between May 3 and May 24.

 

Broader eligibility for assistance opens up after that period.

 

Vitolo said he applied for the COVID aid on May 3 but was told he didn’t qualify because he is white, the suit says.

 

It claims the distinctions are unconstitutional and calls on the administration to halt the payments until an equitable system is in place for distributing them, like first-come, first-served.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Seems like Vitolo needs to invest in some stronger bootstraps.

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

Round one of child tax credit payments slashed hunger rates, U.S. data shows

 

The percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically after the first child tax credit payments were distributed last month, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

The government’s finding shows that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households, potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s push to extend the tax credit past the end of this year, when it is set to expire.

 

“It is great news that the estimated rate of hunger among those with children is at a pandemic low,” said Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, who has been closely tracking food hardship rates throughout the pandemic.

 

The monthly payments of up to $300 for each kid under five and up to $250 for each kid under 18 are the result of one of the most sweeping provisions in the American Rescue Plan, though the policy did not garner much media attention at the time. The payments are set to continue each month through December.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

AP: States and cities slow to spend federal pandemic money

 

As Congress considered a massive COVID-19 relief package earlier this year, hundreds of mayors from across the U.S. pleaded for “immediate action” on billions of dollars targeted to shore up their finances and revive their communities.

 

Now that they’ve received it, local officials are taking their time before actually spending the windfall.

 

As of this summer, a majority of large cities and states hadn’t spent a penny from the American Rescue Plan championed by Democrats and President Joe Biden, according to an Associated Press review of the first financial reports due under the law. States had spent just 2.5% of their initial allotment while large cities spent 8.5%, according to the AP analysis.

 

Many state and local governments reported they were still working on plans for their share of the $350 billion, which can be spent on a wide array of programs.

 

Though Biden signed the law in March, the Treasury Department didn’t release the money and spending guidelines until May. By then, some state legislatures already had wrapped up their budget work for the next year, leaving governors with no authority to spend the new money. Some states waited several more months to ask the federal government for their share.

 

Cities sometimes delayed decisions while soliciting suggestions from the public. And some government officials — still trying to figure out how to spend previous rounds of federal pandemic aid — simply didn’t see an urgent need for the additional cash.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

They can always throw some my way, I won't cry. 

[China]

A California couple vanished after stealing millions in Covid-19 relief funds. They left a goodbye note for their three kids

 

Richard Ayvazyan and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, were facing prison for their role in a massive covid relief fraud scheme when they cut off their electronic tracking bracelets and fled their California home, abandoning their three teenage children.

 

They left a typewritten note for the kids, ages 13, 15 and 16.

"We will be together again one day," it read, according to Ayvazyan's attorney. "This is not a goodbye but a brief break from each other."

This was late August. Almost three months later -- and five months after their convictions in June -- the couple still have not been found. The FBI is searching for them.

That didn't stop a judge this week from sentencing Ayvazyan, 43, and Terabelian, 37, in absentia to 17 and six years in prison, respectively. Prosecutors said they and others carried out a scheme to steal more than $20 million in relief funds intended for small businesses during the pandemic.

"The defendants used the COVID-19 crisis to steal millions of dollars in much-needed government aid intended for people and businesses suffering from the economic effects of the worst pandemic in a century," said US Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison.

Another federal prosecutor said their case was the first of its kind in the nation to go to trial.

 

Click on the link for the full article
 

[HOF44]

On 10/4/2021 at 2:25 PM, China said:

AP: States and cities slow to spend federal pandemic money

 

As Congress considered a massive COVID-19 relief package earlier this year, hundreds of mayors from across the U.S. pleaded for “immediate action” on billions of dollars targeted to shore up their finances and revive their communities.

 

Now that they’ve received it, local officials are taking their time before actually spending the windfall.

 

As of this summer, a majority of large cities and states hadn’t spent a penny from the American Rescue Plan championed by Democrats and President Joe Biden, according to an Associated Press review of the first financial reports due under the law. States had spent just 2.5% of their initial allotment while large cities spent 8.5%, according to the AP analysis.

 

Many state and local governments reported they were still working on plans for their share of the $350 billion, which can be spent on a wide array of programs.

 

Though Biden signed the law in March, the Treasury Department didn’t release the money and spending guidelines until May. By then, some state legislatures already had wrapped up their budget work for the next year, leaving governors with no authority to spend the new money. Some states waited several more months to ask the federal government for their share.

 

Cities sometimes delayed decisions while soliciting suggestions from the public. And some government officials — still trying to figure out how to spend previous rounds of federal pandemic aid — simply didn’t see an urgent need for the additional cash.

 

Click on the link for the full article

I work for a school system that received aid and the restrictions on spending it are so onerous that not much gets spent. 

[China]

'Biggest fraud in a generation': The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP

 

They bought Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys.

 

And Teslas, of course. Lots of Teslas.

 

Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations.

 

They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. That’s on top of the $90 billion to $400 billion believed to have been stolen from the $900 billion Covid unemployment relief program — at least half taken by international fraudsters — as NBC News reported last year. And another $80 billion potentially pilfered from a separate Covid disaster relief program.

 

The prevalence of Covid relief fraud has been known for some time, but the enormous scope and its disturbing implications are only now becoming clear.

 

Even if the highest estimates are inflated, the total fraud in all Covid relief funds amounts to a mind-boggling sum of taxpayer money that could rival the $579 billion in federal funds included in President Joe Biden’s massive 10-year infrastructure spending plan, according to prosecutors, government watchdogs and private experts who are trying to plug the leaks.

 

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” said Matthew Schneider, a former U.S. attorney from Michigan who is now with Honigman LLP. “It is the biggest fraud in a generation.”

 

Most of the losses are considered unrecoverable, but there is still a chance to stanch the bleeding, because federal officials say $600 billion is still waiting to go out the door. The Biden administration imposed new verification rules last year that administration officials say appear to have made a difference in curbing fraud. But they acknowledge that programs in 2020 sacrificed security for speed, needlessly.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Edited March 29, 2022 by China

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Working in consumer and commercial finance, I can't recall the last time I saw a balance sheet that didn't have a PPP line item.  Sometimes, for a glaringly high # that doesn't make sense to me given the nature and size of the business.  We factor in 1% of the total balance as part of the monthly cash flow analysis.  Sometimes this is enough to take a deal from an approval to declined.  The response from the applicant each time is always "but that's going to be forgiven".  We have to consider it a debt, until it actually is forgiven.   I get the feeling on some of these that they are going to have a hell of a time proving they needed that money for the reasons cited.  When we discuss these loans, it sounds as if they were given away like candy - without much vetting at all. 

[Larry]

27 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

When we discuss these loans, it sounds as if they were given away like candy - without much vetting at all. 

 

Wouldn't surprise me.  And given the circumstances, I'm OK with that.  At least as I understand it.  

 

We were trying to get people to comply with stay at home orders.  And were trying to not have those orders crater the economy more than it already was.  

 

Under crisis conditions like that, I'm all right with the government just throwing huge piles of deficit spending at tons of people.  

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Larry

[Ball Security]

13 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Wouldn't surprise me.  And given the circumstances, I'm OK with that.  At least as I understand it.  

 

We were trying to get people to comply with stay at home orders.  And were trying to not have those orders crater the economy more than it already was.  

 

Under crisis conditions like that, I'm all right with the government just throwing huge piles of deficit spending at tons of people.  

 

We have to learn from this though for the next crisis.  A plan needs to be put in place where people’s needs are met (primarily rent/mortgage pauses and food availability). It’s difficult, and I don’t have all the answers.  But a method of taking care of workers directly instead of businesses first may lead to less waste, fraud, and abuse.

[tshile]

Stone them to death in the town square. 
 

seriously **** these people. 

[tshile]

Also - we’re not even talking about companies that took money, didn’t lie about their company, but absolutely didn’t need it and are still sitting on it. 
 

like companies with guaranteed government contracts that were never at risk of losing cash flow. 
 

**** those people too. I hope this doesn’t given forgiven, and they all get penalized heavily for abusing a situation and borderline/outright fraud. 
 

stone the ones that article is taking about. 
 

and for the others require every $ be repaid plus SIGNIFICANT penalties. I’m not even against criminal charges. **** these people. Good people were hurt because these selfish pricks took money for the sole reason they didn’t think they’d get caught and no one was technically stopping them. 
 

 

[Larry]

18 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

We have to learn from this though for the next crisis.  A plan needs to be put in place where people’s needs are met (primarily rent/mortgage pauses and food availability). It’s difficult, and I don’t have all the answers.  But a method of taking care of workers directly instead of businesses first may lead to less waste, fraud, and abuse.

I've bolded what I think is the problem, though. 
 

We were talking about Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and a Republican Congress. 
 

Remember, they didn't want to help workers at all. They reluctantly went through with one. Limited. And immediately announced that they would not remotely consider another one. 
 

Their stated reasons for why they passed multiple bills to protect corporate profits, but not employee paychecks, was because sending money to people would make it tough for employers to bully workers into getting their butts back to work, during a life-threatening epidemic. 

[Llevron]

That **** is crazy. Part of this is why I feel like I want to support limits to freedom of speech for government and peoples in or related to public service. But I honestly don't know if at that point it would help us keep people responsible for this **** out of government, or just push further conspiracy. I dont want people to be able to lie and get away with **** like this, and then point to the other people and say they did it. But I dont know that we can actually stop it 

 

500B in fraud is ridiculous though. Just amazing how much they were willing to push this ****. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

1 hour ago, Larry said:

 

Wouldn't surprise me.  And given the circumstances, I'm OK with that.  At least as I understand it.  

 

We were trying to get people to comply with stay at home orders.  And were trying to not have those orders crater the economy more than it already was.  

 

Under crisis conditions like that, I'm all right with the government just throwing huge piles of deficit spending at tons of people.  

 

Personally, I think we should have been and need to be able to find other ways to get money into the hands of the people who need it.  There are going to be a lot more people in jail, and the feds will have nothing to recover because the money obtained fraudulently is already spent or hidden somewhere they can't find it.  Any time you loosen guidelines to obtain 'free money', you open the doors to fraud.  

 

To hand out money to individuals without much vetting, I understand - but to just dole out the PPP loans to 'businesses' in the way they did, was just asking to get taken to the cleaners, and that's exactly what happened.

Edited March 29, 2022 by BatteredFanSyndrome

[China]

Secret Service recovers $286M in stolen pandemic loans

 

The U.S. Secret Service said Friday that it has recovered $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic loans and is returning the money to the Small Business Administration.

 

The Secret Service said an investigation initiated by its Orlando office found that alleged conspirators submitted Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications by using fake or stolen employment and personal information and used an online bank, Green Dot, to conceal and move their criminal proceeds.

 

The agency worked with Green Dot to identify roughly 15,000 accounts and seize $286 million connected to the accounts.

 

“This forfeiture effort and those to come are a direct and necessary response to the unprecedented size and scope of pandemic relief fraud,” said Kevin Chambers, director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement at the Justice Department.

 

Billions have been fraudulently claimed through various pandemic relief programs — including Paycheck Protection Program loans, unemployment insurance and others that were rolled out in the midst of the worldwide pandemic that shutdown global economies for months.

 

In March, the Government Accountability Office reported that while agencies were able to distribute COVID-19 relief funds quickly, “the tradeoff was that they did not have systems in place to prevent and identify payment errors and fraud” due in part to “financial management weaknesses.”

 

As a result, the GAO has recommended several measures for agencies to prevent pandemic program fraud in the future, including better reporting on their fraud risk management efforts.

 

Since 2020, the Secret Service initiated more than 3,850 pandemic related fraud investigations, seized over $1.4 billion in fraudulently obtained funds and helped to return $2.3 billion to state unemployment insurance programs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[goskins10]

Some in PA are getting additional Stimulus money. It's rebates on rent or property takes for 2021. Many states already sent this money out. PA is slow to the party. Check could be up to $1657.50. 

 

Link:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/stimulus-update-thousands-of-surprise-stimulus-payments-are-going-out-soon-here-s-who-s-getting-one/ar-AA11w5Mv?cvid=df7e8eb29bbc4c9296e0ddd210a76372

 

Not all are happy about it - the right sees doom and gloom, Calls this a gimmick. : https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/stimulus-update-thousands-of-surprise-stimulus-payments-are-going-out-soon-here-s-who-s-getting-one/ar-AA11w5Mv?cvid=df7e8eb29bbc4c9296e0ddd210a76372