Recovery Blog

Throughout its three-year history, the Recovery Board has worked closely with law enforcement to keep a watchful eye on the $840 billion stimulus program.

That collaboration has paid remarkable dividends.

Take a look, for instance, at the most recent stats on criminal convictions and monetary losses:

• There have been 351 convictions, many of them Social Security fraud cases.
• Losses of Recovery money associated with those convictions total $9.1 million, a relatively small amount.

Now, it’s never good news when thieves steal taxpayers’ money but the idea is to prevent losses or detect the crime early on before the funds are lost.

Fortunately, the Board has developed strong partnerships with the 29 federal Inspectors General who oversee the federal agencies that distribute Recovery Act funds.

That’s not a coincidence; twelve of the IGs serve on the Board.

We use our first-rate analysis center to dig out irregularities linked to recipients of Recovery Act awards and are constantly sending leads and tips to IGs.

The Board also warns federal program managers when we see inconsistencies in agency awards.

The most recent oversight data shows there are 1,826 ongoing investigations relating to Recovery Act awards.  More than 500 cases have been closed.

The IGs also have completed nearly 2,100 reviews of the use of Recovery funds and pressed various agencies to improve management of their Recovery funds.

All in all, that kind of oversight is good news for taxpayers.

– Michael Wood, Executive Director, Recovery Board