Tackling the biggest fraud in US history – pandemic relief

Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were stolen during the pandemic, as Congress rushed to aid small businesses and individuals. Now the U.S. is trying to claw some money back – and fix vulnerabilities in the system.

A New Jersey man donning a curly orange wig defrauded California and the federal government of more than $1.67 million in pandemic relief funds. They finally caught up with him nearly three years after opening the floodgates of cash.

Next Monday, Eric Michael Jaklitsch is scheduled to be sentenced in two related cases, according...