"Businessman's $8 Million COVID Relief Theft Funds Private Island and Texas Oil Fields"

Businessman Patrick Parker Walsh has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for stealing nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, which he used to purchase a private island in Florida and oil fields in Texas. Walsh is one of thousands of thieves who collectively plundered over $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid, with an additional $123 billion wasted or misspent. The stolen funds were used for luxury purchases such as houses, expensive cars, jewelry, strip club visits, and vacations. The government's goal of quickly distributing aid without stringent safeguards allowed these fraudsters to easily lie on applications and receive the money.