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Over the past few years, Congress has allocated more than $5 trillion to individuals and businesses to help them weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the amount of money involved, and the loose rules through which that money was made available -- particularly during the initial rounds when money was being handed out with little more than a person's word that they qualified -- the programs were bound to be hit by fraudsters.
Justice is now being sought against some of those who allegedly defrauded the government, and U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld of West Virginia's Northern District is helping lead the charge.
On Wednesday, Ihlenfeld announced that five individuals -- four from the Northern Panhandle and one from Bridgeport, W.Va. -- had been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges ranging from wire fraud, mail fraud, making false statements to a federal agent and money laundering. All the charges stem from alleged activity that defrauded the taxpayers when it came to COVID-19 relief.
"Because the government moved so quickly, because it had to push out the money so rapidly, we had some people who took advantage of the situation," Ihlenfeld said in announcing the charges. "We had some people who manipulated the programs that were rolled out."
The five charged to date include Wheeling resident and former West Virginia House of Delegates candidate Dalton Haas; Jodi Headley of Chester; Shawn M. Murphy of Moundsville; David Boyd of Chester; and James A. Nolte of Bridgeport, W.Va.
What makes this even more interesting is that Ihlenfeld noted his office hired law students over the summer to concentrate specifically on COVID fraud cases. That's a great way to prioritize the issue while also giving students real-world experience.
Ihlenfeld deserves credit for having his office focus on this matter. Prosecuting those who defraud the taxpayers should always be priority No. 1.