H.R. 8873 · Passed House · Finance and Financial Sector

Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

What it does

Extends the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges related to COVID unemployment insurance fraud from 5 years to 10 years, covering fraud, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy charges.
Extends the statute of limitations for civil false-claims enforcement actions related to COVID unemployment fraud from 6 years to 10 years.
Establishes a federal task force to coordinate with state and financial institutions to locate fraudulent pandemic unemployment payments and develop cost-effective recovery strategies.
Does not apply the extended statute of limitations to prosecutions or civil actions where the original statute of limitations has already expired before enactment.

Official summary

Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act This bill extends to 10 years the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions for fraud related to several unemployment insurance programs that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also establishes a task force to locate fraudulent payments and develop strategies to recover such payments. The extension applies to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The bill extends the statute of limitations for (1) criminal charges related to fraud, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud (currently subject to a 5-year statute of limitations); and (2) civil actions involving false claims (currently subject to a 6-year statute of limitations). However, the bill does not apply to a criminal prosecution or civil enforcement action if the applicable statute of limitations expired before the date of the bill's enactment. The task force established by this bill must coordinate with state agencies to identify federal pandemic…

Latest action

Jul 13, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Committee: Senate Finance