Landlords and tenants have tried to steal at least $6 million from Maine’s massive COVID-19 rent relief program since it started distributing the rental assistance more than a year ago, according to reports from the agency that runs the program. The Maine State Housing Authority has detected 408 fraudulent applications that would have cost just under $6.4 million since the state’s $350 million Emergency Rental Assistance program started in March 2021. The $6.4 million represents more than 3 percent of the $197.3 million in rent relief MaineHousing has issued, and the 408 fraudulent applications make up less than 1 percent of the more than 49,000 applications the agency has received for rental assistance. But the amounts show that the rent relief program, like other federal COVID-19 relief programs, has been a target of fraudsters who have tried to benefit from billions of dollars in government aid.

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Sections:  u.s.   
Topics:  Maine   Penobscot County   Bangor   
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    11/19/2024 - 4:04 am | View Link
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