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FACT BRIEF

Did 12% of COVID-19 relief funds go to ineligible businesses in Wisconsin?

By Hope Karnopp
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NO

The Legislative Audit Bureau found the Department of Revenue did not follow eligibility requirements when distributing COVID-19 relief grants to 45 businesses.

The nonpartisan audit agency reviewed 172 grants out of nearly 100,000 awarded to small businesses, restaurants and lodging, representing $4.1 million out of the total $596 million.

The LAB cautioned that the review was not based on a randomly selected or statistically valid sample.

"It is not appropriate to extrapolate the results of our review to all grants that DOR awarded," LAB wrote in the Nov. 29 report.

In a statement, the Republican leaders of the Legislature's audit committee reiterated that the LAB's findings are not representative of all grants awarded. Revenue Secretary Peter Barca noted the 172 grants are "less than 0.2% of those issued."

Barca told auditors the Revenue Department "successfully stopped 28,605 fraudulent grants" and was recovering the $475,000 in improperly awarded funds.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin Legislature Legislative Audit Bureau: We’re All In and Wisconsin Tomorrow Programs
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel State audit says 45 pandemic grants went to ineligible businesses, a small fraction of overall assistance
WisPolitics Sen. Cowles: Audit reviews the We’re All In and Wisconsin Tomorrow grant programs
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.