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02/17/2021

Billions in COVID-19 Pandemic Aid Swindled

How con artists and mob syndicates did it

In December, when investigators raided a strip mall store in Garden Grove, California, in December, they found a line of customers snaking around the parking lot and huge stacks of cash inside the store. Orange County prosecutors say Nguyen Social Services was charging up to $700 a pop to file false unemployment claims for people who did not qualify to receive Covid-19 relief money.

The brazen fraud was part of an overall scheme that cost taxpayers an estimated $11 million, prosecutors say.

"This isn't just an Orange County problem. It isn't just a California problem," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "This is a breakdown of catastrophic proportions that has failed the American taxpayer."

Please select this link to read the complete article from NBC News.

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