Sponsors (18)
The bill lengthens statute-of-limitations periods for pandemic-era fraud and forfeiture claims—boosting prosecutors' and victims' ability to recover funds and hold wrongdoers accountable—while extending legal exposure and compliance costs for individuals, businesses, and potentially taxpayers.
Federal prosecutors and agencies (DOJ, DHS) gain up to 10 more years (with discovery tolling) to investigate and bring criminal and forfeiture actions for pandemic-era program crimes, improving chances to build complex cases and hold perpetrators accountable.
Victims and whistleblowers (False Claims Act relators) have a longer civil window—up to 10 years—to sue for recovery of misspent pandemic relief funds, increasing the likelihood of recovering losses.
Customs and forfeiture claims tied to pandemic-era violations can be pursued up to 10 years (with discovery tolling), helping agencies recoup assets from long-running smuggling or import-related schemes.
People accused of pandemic-era program crimes face a much longer criminal exposure period (up to 10 years versus the usual 5 for many felonies), extending legal uncertainty and the threat of prosecution.
Small businesses, contractors, and individuals who received pandemic relief face extended civil and forfeiture risk for older conduct, complicating record retention, liability planning, and increasing compliance/legal costs.
Longer enforcement windows could raise government litigation and enforcement costs over a longer period, potentially increasing administrative expenses borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Extends criminal, customs forfeiture, and False Claims Act limitation periods to 10 years for fraud involving listed COVID-era relief laws and adjusts related notice timing.
Official title: Extend the statute of limitations for violations relating to pandemic-era programs to be 10 years.
Introduced January 16, 2025 by James Lankford · Last progress January 16, 2025
Extends the time federal prosecutors, customs authorities, and civil relators can bring enforcement actions for fraud tied to specified COVID-era relief laws by creating uniform 10-year limitation periods for covered criminal and civil claims and lengthening certain customs forfeiture windows. It also sets notice and delivery timing rules for False Claims Act matters tied to those pandemic-era programs and preserves ordinary tolling rules for absence or concealment. The bill applies only to violations involving a listed set of pandemic-era laws (CARES, PPP, ARPA, Families First, and related statutes and amendments) and does not change penalties or substantive elements of offenses—only the deadlines for starting prosecutions, forfeitures, and certain civil claims and notices.