Federal Virus Aid Ignored Business Misconduct, Watchdog Says (1)

Nearly $150 billion in federal funds aimed at Covid-19 economic stimulus went to businesses with a prior history of corporate misconduct such as employment law violations and faulty or fraudulent health-care billing, according to a government watchdog’s new report.

Good Jobs First, a policy group that monitors government-funded business incentives and argues for stronger accountability, researched more than 1 million businesses and nonprofits that received federal grants or loans through 20 programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The group found 43,000 of these had previously paid penalties or civil settlements related to a range of misconduct ...