The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert to financial institutions on fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 Employee Retention Credit.
Background: The CARES Act authorized the ERC as a tax credit to encourage businesses to keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing fraud and scams related to the ERC have resulted in 323 investigations involving more than $2.8 billion of potentially fraudulent ERC claims.
Alert Details: FinCEN’s alert provides an overview of typologies associated with ERC fraud and scams, highlights red flags, and reminds financial institutions of their reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act.
Solutions Forum: ICBA’s next ThinkTECH Solutions Forum—scheduled for 11 a.m. (Eastern time) Thursday, Dec. 7—will spotlight providers that help community banks combat fraud.