Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

Key Points

• The bill sets up a federal task force including the Attorney General, Labor and Treasury secretaries, FDIC chairman, and CFPB director to find pandemic unemployment money still sitting unused at banks or in state unclaimed property accounts.
• The task force will identify pandemic unemployment payments loaded onto prepaid debit cards that banks are still holding, or that were transferred to state unclaimed property programs, so they can be reviewed and recovered if improper.
• The bill gives prosecutors and investigators 10 years after the fraud occurred to bring criminal or civil cases over pandemic unemployment fraud, much longer than typical deadlines, unless the old deadline already expired.
• If someone's identity was stolen to file a fraudulent pandemic unemployment claim, the task force must develop a standard notice explaining what resources are available to help them.
• States that spend money helping the federal task force track down these funds will have those administrative costs reimbursed by the Department of Labor.