Ferris Brooks, a 41-year-old man from Plymouth, was arrested earlier today, for fraudulently obtaining and misusing COVID-19 relief funds. Brooks has been slapped with a charge of theft of government property, attracting a potential 10-year imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine, as per the U.S. Department of Justice.
In May 2021, the Attorney General founded the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, partnering with various agencies to combat pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force helps in attentive investigation and prosecution of domestic and international criminal actors, and aids relief program agencies in preventing fraud, among other duties. Detailed information on the Department's pandemic response are accessible on their website.
People with information about potential fraud linked to COVID-19 are encouraged to report to the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), which offers a hotline at 866-720-5721 and a web complaint form on their website.
