The Justice Department announced it charged 371 defendants, including members of gangs and transnational criminal organizations, with crimes related to $836 million in Covid relief fraud. The charges are part of a coordinated law enforcement sweep that took place from May to July.

That brings the total to 3,000 defendants and $1.4 billion seized since the department launched the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021.

119 defendants in the latest sweep have already been convicted or pleaded guilty. The sheer size of the fraud can be attributed in part to the ease of obtaining the money. This fraud has been the subject of Congressional hearings.