Inside job

While external fraudsters who absconded with billions of dollars in pandemic relief have dominated headlines, less attention has been paid to employees scamming those very same programs. Here we spotlight internal fraud at state agencies and what organizations can do to fight this pernicious type of fraud.

In the two years since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, news headlines have been awash with sensational stories about international crime gangs and con artists who stole billions of dollars in government relief money. But while these stories captured the public’s attention, another type of fraudster was plying their trade in state benefit agencies across the U.S. — the internal fraudster.