articleThe U.S. Secret Service said Friday that it has recovered $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic loans and is returning the money to the Small Business Administration. The Secret Service said an investigation initiated by its Orlando office found that alleged conspirators submitted Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications by using fake or stolen employment and personal information and used an online bank, Green Dot, to conceal and move their criminal proceeds. "This forfeiture effort and those to come are a direct and necessary response to the unprecedented size and scope of pandemic relief fraud," said Kevin Chambers, director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement at the Justice Department. Since 2020, the Secret Service initiated more than 3,850 pandemic related fraud investigations, seized over $1.4 billion in fraudulently obtained funds and helped to return $2.3 billion to state unemployment insurance programs. The latest seizure included a collaboration of efforts between Secret Service, the SBA's Inspector General, DOJ and other offices.