Street Gangs Robbed Pandemic Relief Funds To Finance Crime

Criminal street gangs go anywhere they can illegally take money, and there’s no place better to accomplish that than through the federal government. Multiple reports show these gangs fraudulently made off with millions during the pandemic.

As the government handed out funds like candy, the Insane Crip Gang flourished on Long Island, New York. The Washington Times reported this criminal enterprise is responsible for at least three murders and two dozen attempted murders.

In the meantime, members created a fraud manual to bamboozle the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The SBA employed screening software intended to filter out fraudsters, but apparently it was not sharp enough to detect a New York street gang. Members created imaginary small businesses and submitted pandemic loan applications for relief funds. 

One 2020 month saw Insane Crip Gang members rip off the state for more than $200,000 in false unemployment benefits.

Authorities said the gang members fueled lavish lifestyles and extravagant purchases through the funds meant for struggling businesses and workers. And Long Island was far from the only locale to see criminals enrich themselves through government funds.

In Shreveport, Louisiana, the Step and Die gang pretended to be small business owners on their way to reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal government.

A federal grand jury recently indicted 24 people for allegedly defrauding Washington’s pandemic relief efforts. 

The defendants are accused of everything from fabricating bank statements and tax documents to attempting to get multiple loans for a single fictional business. Instead of spending the funds on employees who did not exist, the tax dollars furthered their criminal activities.

Many of the gang members currently face charges of murder, attempted murder and drug-related offenses. Prosecutors described the group as immature young men who lack the discipline of more organized gangs.

That did not stop them from pulling the wool over Washington’s eyes, however. Officials said their alleged fraud targeted the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.

These were intended to assist businesses and workers struggling under forced government lockdowns during the pandemic. They repeatedly proved to be easy targets for schemes to defraud the government as there was precious little vetting of funding recipients.