Scant fraud reported among U.S. rental assistance programs

By ADAM BEAM and MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Unemployment agencies across the country were bombarded with fraudulent claims during the pandemic. But so far states have reported few fraud attempts among their rental assistance programs. Congress has approved $45 billion to help eligible tenants pay their rent during the pandemic. More than $10 billion has been spent through the end of September. California officials say they caught 1,800 fraudulent applications out of nearly 500,000. Utah says only about 1% of its applications have been fraudulent. Other states like Texas and Florida won’t say if they have had any fraud. They argue revealing it would harm their security.