Wherever there is gov spending there will be stories like this. The relevant question is not whether there was fraud but whether the program was beneficial notwithstanding the fraud. (a thread) https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1325419070464864256

We have a choice between two errors: 1) giving some COVID aid to Americans that don’t need it or 2) denying COVID aid to Americans who need it because we’re afraid of 1). Mercifully, we have lots of laws to fix the first error ex post—we just need prosecutors who aren’t

afraid of prosecuting financial wrongdoing. The law that fixes the second error ex post is called bankruptcy. It doesn’t so much cure the harm but spread it around. Hospitals and other institutions that we care about then bear the costs because that’s the least bad outcome

in a world in which we fear error 1 more than error 2. To be sure, ex post enforcement won’t entirely eliminate fraud in any gov spending program. But the impossibility of perfect compliance is no reason to fail millions of Americans now. This is both a moral & economic choice.

We should design better relief packages, maybe even reconsider the whole SBA—just keep experimenting to bring people through this crisis and lay the foundation for a better future.