Kevin Chambers, right, was appointed Thursday to be the Justice Department’s chief pandemic fraud prosecutor. Credit…Pool photo by Kevin LamarqueThe Justice Department named Kevin Chambers on Thursday to lead its efforts to pursue cases of fraud and attempted fraud related to at least $8 billion in Covid-19 relief funds.The decision to name a prosecutor to go after stimulus fraud comes on the heels of President Biden’s State of the Union address, where he pledged to go after “criminals who stole billions in relief money.”Mr. Chambers, who has served as an associate deputy attorney general over the past year, will steer the department’s criminal and civil enforcement efforts and oversee investigation and prosecution of fraud allegations.Since the health crisis began, the federal government has sent roughly $5 trillion to American households, small businesses, schools and other institutions to help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic. While the money has accelerated vaccination campaigns across the country, provided relief to unemployed workers and helped schools hire educators to address learning loss, the funds have also led to a series of high-profile fraud cases.In Florida, the authorities said, a woman paid a hit man using part of a $15,000 loan intended to aid struggling small businesses. In Georgia, a man spent $57,000 in coronavirus relief money to buy a rare Pokémon trading card that federal authorities later seize …
