Covid Fraud in Ag

Covid Fraud in Ag

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
US Attorney Josh Hurwit heads up the Idaho COVID 19 Fraud Task Force. After the formation of the District of Idaho's COVID 19 Fraud Task force, US attorney Josh Hurwit has highlighted the District of Idaho's ongoing efforts to combat pandemic related fraud involving the agricultural community in Idaho. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the criminal, civil and asset recovery divisions, along with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. I talked with U.S Attorney Hurwit. There's a program called the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, so CFAP that funneled a lot of money into the ag community in Idaho, and we're seeing some fraud in that. And one of our missions as part of our COVID fraud task force is to make sure we investigate those cases, hold folks accountable, recoup that money with the goal of making sure that the farming and ranching community is a fair playing field for everybody. Speaker1: So when you guys detect fraud, there are certainly legal ramifications, right? Absolutely, we've prosecuted a couple cases involving CFAP fraud on the criminal side and on the civil side. We've also entered into a settlement with three farmers that violated the rules of the program. And then we have a different civil case in which we are recovering $750,000 for someone that defrauded the program. Speaker1: Shame on those that would attempt to put a stain on the wonderful people who embody Idaho agriculture.

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