More than $200 billion in pandemic relief potentially squandered, says government watchdog report

The federal government squandered more than $200 billion in potential fraud in its aggressive rush to prop up small businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to shatter the U.S. economy, according to a report published Tuesday by the inspector general of the Small Business Administration.

The hefty sum, which amounts to approximately 17% of the $1.2 trillion dispersed by SBA, updates previous estimates from the inspector general, Hannibal "Mike" Ware, as investigators from several federal agencies continue to trace and recover millions of dollars lost to fraud, waste and other abuses that occurred during the pandemic.

So far, nearly $30 billion of those fraudulent funds -- about 15% of the fraud that's been calculated as of May -- has been reclaimed through collaboration between the inspector general's office, the SBA, the U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies, the report said.