The Great Grift: How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted

A sheet of uncut $100 bills is inspected during the printing process at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 24, 2013. An Associated Press analysis published on Monday, June 12, 2023, found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents a jarring 10 percent of the total $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID-relief aid. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)