Republicans and Democrats cheers as he said he was going after criminals who stole billions of dollars of aid.

Officials believe as much as $100 billion went missing and hundreds of investigations are already under way.

Biden made his announcement with a not at his predecessor, Donald Trump, who curbed the work of regulators or abolished them altogether.

'The previous administration not only ballooned the deficit with tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations, it undermined the watchdogs whose job was to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted,' said Biden.

He said that under his administration: 'The watch dogs are back.' 

'We're going after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans,' he continued.

'And tonight, I'm announcing that the Justice Department will name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.'

President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address that the Department of Justice will appoint a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud

Orange County prosecutors say Nguyen Social Services was charging up to $700 a pop to file false unemployment claims for people who did not qualify to receive Covid-19 relief money. Ten people have been charged in fraudulent unemployment claim schemes

The scam netted almost half a million dollars in cash, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

In total, the US government splashed out some $6 trillion in emergency COVID-19 relief funds to prevent economic disaster, and the firehose of cash attracted a flock of eager fraudsters.

The suspects include a former NFL player and a reality TV star, and in the scores of cases brought so far, prosecutors allege that fraudulently obtained funds were spent on everything from Lamborghinis and Rolex watches to a contract murder.

Such is the scale of the problem that the Secret Service appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge Roy Dotson of the Jacksonville field office as the National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator 

'The Secret Service currently has more than 900 active criminal investigations into fraud specific to pandemic-related relief funds,' Dotson said in a statement at the time.

'That's a combination of pandemic benefits and all the other benefits programs too. Every state has been hit, some harder than others.'

Much of the fraud involved bogus applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds intended to keep small businesses afloat, but scams involving unemployment insurance were also rife, investigators say. 

The sprawling fraud took place over three separate rounds of relief funding during both the Trump and Biden administrations, and the current White House is quick to paint it as an issue that President Joe Biden 'inherited' from his predecessor. 

In one case former New York Jets wide receiver Joshua Bellamy was charged with fraud and conspiracy for his involvement in a scheme to obtain $1.2 million in PPP funds.

After obtaining the loan for his company, businesslogr.com Drip Entertainment LLC, Bellamy admitted to using the funds on personal items, such as jewelry and a stay at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Former New York Jets wide receiver Joshua Bellamy was charged with fraud and conspiracy for his involvement in a scheme to obtain $1.2 million in PPP funds 

Reality TV star Maurice Fayne, who starred in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme and PPP fraud 

Bellamy, 32, pleaded guilty last June to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.

As well, reality TV star Maurice Fayne, who starred in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme and PPP fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said last year that Fayne 'planned to use the PPP program as a cover for his long-running Ponzi scheme.'

One of the most high-profile unemployment fraud cases in California was discovered late last year at Nguyen Social Services, a company in Garden Grove that allegedly charged $700 to file false employment claims for people who did not qualify for relief under the CARES Act. 

Prosecutors say the scheme ultimately costs taxpayers an estimated $11million. Huy Duc Nguyen and Mai Dacsom Nguyen, who set up Nguyen Social Services, and eight others were arrest in the scheme on charges including perjury and conspiracy to defraud another of property.  

But local officials who busted the company have cautioned that the Nguyen scheme is hardly unique, with similar ones likely playing out across the US.  

'This isn't just an Orange County problem. It isn't just a California problem,' Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. 

'This is a breakdown of catastrophic proportions that has failed the American taxpayer.'  

According to documents filed by the Department of Justice, Tristan Bishop Pan, 40, submitted numerous fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications - intended for small businesses facing hardship in the early days of the pandemic - to federally insured banks on behalf of scam companies named White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Night's Watch, among others.

Fans of the popular fantasy program may recognize the names of the non-existent businesses as not-so subtle references to the program - which ended its eight-year run in May 2019.

Federal agents poring over the applications were apparently also fans of the show, uncovering Pan's ruse in September after flagging the companies and noticing inconsistencies in statements about their employees and payroll expenses.

According to documents filed by the Department of Justice, Tristan Bishop Pan (not pictured) submitted numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications reserved for small businesses to federally insured banks on behalf of scam companies White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Night's Watch. Above, a 'White Walker' from the hit HBO show

A false website Pan created for one of his fraudulent businesses, called the Pan School of Real Estate

Prosecutors alleged that Pan submitted at least 14 false PPP loan applications seeking $6 million in taxpayer funds intended for businesses hit hard by Covid-19

The scheme, feds say, saw the fanboy scammer submit at least 14 false PPP loan applications seeking $6million of government money intended for businesses hit hard by the then-rampant virus and resulting business lockdowns.

Prior to being caught in the fall of 2020, Pan successfully filched nearly $2 million in taxpayer funds for made-up companies, businesslogr.com including one of the three Game of Thrones-inspired ones.

The PPP loan applications were all supported by fake documents, including falsified tax filings, Pan's indictment revealed. 

He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2021, after nearly a year of court proceedings. 

One of the fraudulent businesses founded by Pan was named Khaleesi, in reference to the Game of Thrones character known on the show as 'Mother of Dragons'

Prosecutors named a number of fraudulent business in their indictment of Pan (above), including  a number that bore names from the hit HBO show Game of Thrones

Pan formed several companies in 2019 and listed their purpose as real estate or real estate acquisition firms, filings with the North Carolina secretary of state disclosed.

Pan claimed the companies employed dozens of people and boasted tens of thousands of dollars in monthly payroll, in order to warrant large loans funded by taxpayer dollars.

However, in reality, the 'businesses' employed no one.

He similarly applied for loans on several other companies he had created, including a number with strange names - including several inspired by Game of Thrones.

He was the founder of several real companies that were doing actual business, though feds accused Pan of significantly inflating the number of employees those companies had as well.

A website for one of Pan's ventures called the Pan School of Real Estate, which feds say boasts the same address as another scam business, advertises itself as 'North Carolina's answer to affordable, fun, and timely real estate education.'

Another business founded by Pan was named for 'The Night's Watch' - a group of men who guard the fictional land of Westeros from mystical zombie-like creatures on Game of Thrones

An online directory for the Pan Insurance Agency - located at the same address - is stamped with a Better Business Bureau warning that mail sent to the address to confirm that a business was indeed operating were all returned by the post office.

U.S. Attorney Michael Francis Easley Jr., who has launched a new federal task force to go after people like Pan who scam taxpayers out of COVID-19 relief funds, says Pan was just one of thousands of criminals sharing ways to defraud the system during the pandemic on online 'networks.'

'We want to ensure not just that we prosecute those who commit crimes, but that we also ensure crime doesn't pay,' Easley said. 'We can have civil remedies and forfeitures of funds that were taken based on false representations and lies to the government.'

In December, cops arrested New Jersey man who allegedly exploited a government-used facial recognition system to claim nearly a million dollars in fake pandemic-boosted unemployment payments from a state more than 2,000 miles away, by posting photos of himself in ginger wigs. 

Through the scam, feds said the suspects able to 'cheat California out of $900,000 in fake unemployment payments 

Pan's attorney didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. 

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