Restitution Fails After Pandemic Aid Fraud

Mass fraud against pandemic child‑nutrition and similar relief programs is being prosecuted, but tracing dispersed funds and recovering meaningful restitution is slow and often incomplete. That gap leaves victims uncompensated and raises questions about program design, auditing, and statutory recovery powers. — If enforcement cannot reliably make victims whole, policymakers must rethink oversight, clawback mechanisms, and design of emergency aid to reduce long‑run social cost and political fallout.