M‘Easy money’: How international scam artists pulled off an epic theft

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More than two-thirds of states, 34, reported no cases of identity theft overpayments in the most vulnerable unemployment benefits program. Experts say that simply is not accurate. Law enforcement officials say one of the first steps taken after the insurrection was to seek cell phone tower data to try to identify people at the Capitol that day, a tactic allowed under existing law. That was necessary, the officials say, because among the multiple failures that day was the US Capitol Police allowing the hundreds of people who had attacked the building to leave without arrest. Authorities announced only a handful of arrests on January 6, and the FBI and other agencies subsequently used a dragnet across the country to find the rioters. Law enforcement officers have used what they call an "exclusion list." The list lets investigators see mobile devices that were authorized to be in the Capitol -- such as for Congress members and staff, law enforcement and other government and public safety officials -- while sifting out people who were not authorized to be in the building, according to a federal court filing in a riot-related case. The FBI and Justice Department declined to comment. FBI collection of phone metadata and geolocator data -- permissible under federal law -- was the subject of multiple lines of questions this week by some senators who pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray to reveal what investigators were doing with communications and financial data. Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Josh Hawley of Missouri suggested at a hearing Tuesday that the FBI could be overstepping its authority by scooping up communications data. DHS official lists threat assessments that were shared ahead of Capitol riot The inspector general pointed out in a recent report that the Labor Department reduced testing and reporting requirements on state unemployment systems during the pandemic. One result is that the public is in the dark about the scope of the fraud. "It makes me sick to my stomach, particularly when I see how much is coming out of my taxes each month for unemployment," said John Wilson, Agari's field chief technology officer. The inspector general has projected that there will be $87 billion in misspent unemployment funds, a conservative estimate that assumes no spike in fraud rates. Both the inspector general and the FBI declined to offer an estimate of what the actual value of lost funds might be. ID.me's estimate of $400 billion comes from the data the company has seen across the states, Hall said. ID.me implements extra verification steps beyond paper or digital records, requiring people, for example, to prove through FaceTime that their faces match the ones on the drivers' license. As a result, fraudsters have used Barbie dolls, silicon masks and deep fake videos in an unsuccessful effort to beat the system, he said. DHS official lists threat assessments that were shared ahead of Capitol riot 04:27 Investigators also have Capitol Police security footage that Democrats want examined to see if any members gave tours to riot participants in advance of January 6. Democrats have accused unnamed Republicans of providing rallygoers access, suggesting they were surveillance opportunities ahead of the riot. Other lawmakers have a separate concern, that as investigators move closer to the activities of lawmakers, some members of Congress could use the protections of the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause to try to block the work of the FBI. The clause provides legal immunity to members of Congress when carrying out their legislative duties. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, says he's asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate because he believes Congress will be able to get information that the FBI may have trouble getting because of the Speech or Debate protections. Whitehouse, in a telephone interview with CNN, says his effort is aimed at "making sure this isn't an investigation that is limited to the individuals who assaulted and entered the Capitol on January 6," adding that "potential culpability by members of Congress" has to be investigated. The new phase of the federal probe is along the lines federal officials outlined after the attack. Acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said that after the initial stage of rounding up rioters, prosecutors and investigators would begin examining more difficult aspects: including the funding and organizing of the riot, the likely interviews of lawmakers and even whether incitement at the rally held by President Donald Trump before the riot broke any laws. Prosecutors have also pushed to bring sedition charges against some alleged rioters, a step awaiting approval from the Justice Department, according to people briefed on the matter. GOP senator continues to push riot conspiracy theory GOP senator continues to push riot conspiracy theory 03:57 Sherwin has announced he will move to the Justice Department to help manage the cases for a period while the department sets out a longer-term plan for a sprawling probe that will stretch months. Justice officials are mindful of the political and constitutional implications of parts of the investigation, particularly any that touch on members of Congress, according to law enforcement officials. So far, investigators haven't found evidence that members of Congress knowingly aided or were involved in the insurrection, the US official said. The FBI has seized devices belonging to alleged rioters and has found communications that show connections that investigators plan to examine further. In some cases, there is data showing past contact with lawmakers, and in others there's communications between alleged rioters discussing their associations with members of Congress. Some alleged rioters have also claimed to have provided security for lawmakers In one case against an alleged leader of the right-wing paramilitary group the Oath Keepers, a defendant has claimed she was enlisted to provide security to legislators and others in their march to the Capitol. None of this necessarily indicates wrongdoing by any lawmakers, the US official said. Capitol officials say riot was planned and involved white supremacists Capitol officials say riot was planned and involved white supremacists 03:04 At Tuesday's hearing, Wray said he couldn't provide details about specific steps the FBI has taken while the investigation is ongoing. Asked by Hawley about the FBI's use of metadata and other information from cell phone towers, Wray said: "I feel confident that we are using various legal authorities to look at metadata." Hawley, who helped lead the effort to block congressional certification of the election results during the riot, expressed frustration: "How are we going to know what you're doing with it and how are we going to evaluate the bureau's conduct if we don't know what authorities you're invoking, what precisely you're doing, what you're retaining?" Hawley said. "You're basically saying 'just trust us.'"