# 160 defendants charged in a nationwide pandemic fraud sweep

> Federal prosecutors tie more than $245 million in losses to COVID relief fraud, and a California daycare case adds $10 million more.
- Title: 160 defendants charged in a nationwide pandemic fraud sweep
- Summary: Federal prosecutors tie more than $245 million in losses to COVID relief fraud, and a California daycare case adds $10 million more. The Justice Department…
- Keywords: covid fraud, justice department, pandemic relief, childcare fraud, prosecution, news, politics, 160, defendants, charged, nationwide, pandemic
- Source: Fox News — https://foxnews.com/us/ag-blanche-unveils-federal-charges-160-defendants-pandemic-relief-sweep
- Author: Louis Casiano
- Published: 2026-09-15T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: covid fraud, justice department, pandemic relief, childcare fraud, prosecution, news, politics
## A summer of fraud arrests
Between mid-June and September, federal prosecutors helped arrest 160 criminal defendants over suspected COVID-19 relief fraud, Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the Rose Garden.
## Missouri at the center
About 80 of the defendants were newly charged over suspected COVID fraud in Missouri and neighboring states. Blanche put total losses across the cases at more than $245 million.
## Daycares with few children
Prosecutors in Southern California charged 12 people who ran at-home childcare facilities. They allegedly collected more than $10 million in government payments while few or no children attended.

> If you knowingly break the law, you will be held accountable
## Billing from outside the country
Some defendants allegedly weren't even in the U.S. when they filed claims. Prosecutors say Turkiya Alawad, 63, was abroad in January 2024 but still collected childcare payments for that period.
## Bigger than Feeding Our Future
The AP reports the California case tops Minnesota's Feeding Our Future case, which submitted about $4.6 million in claims to the state's Child Care Assistance Program.
## A task force led by Vance
The Trump administration has made fraud in government programs a priority. Vice President JD Vance chairs its fraud task force, which has led to dozens of arrests nationwide.
## Key takeaway

The Justice Department is charging pandemic and childcare fraud as a coordinated national priority, with cases that run from Missouri to Southern California.