Project Journal

Criminals Stole People’s Identities to Steal Unemployment Money. Losses May Have Hit $191 Billion.

During the pandemic, organized criminal groups used stolen personal information to file fake unemployment claims, leaving real victims to fix fraudulent records while the total losses were later estimated at up to $191 billion.

Wealthy Parents Bribed Their Kids’ Way Into College. A Court Later Threw Out Two Convictions.

In 2019, prosecutors uncovered a scheme where wealthy families paid to fake test scores and athletic records to get their children into selective colleges, but a 2023 court ruling overturned the convictions of two fathers who fought the case.

Criminals Stole Tens of Billions in Pandemic Loans. Most of It Was Never Prosecuted.

When the government rushed emergency small-business loans out the door in 2020, fraud flourished, and even years of dedicated federal prosecution only caught a fraction of the total money that was stolen.

Plymouth Executes Three Wampanoag Men, Breaching the 1621 Treaty

A Mob Broke Into the Capitol to Stop an Election Count. Years Later, Most Were Pardoned.

On January 6, 2021, a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol and interrupted Congress as it counted electoral votes, injuring more than 140 police officers, before nearly all of the roughly 1,600 people charged were pardoned or had their sentences reduced in 2025.