Md. pandemic aid to businesses hindered by rules, caution, officials say

The state’s top tax collector said efforts to get aid to businesses struggling to survive the early days of the pandemic may have been slowed by a paralyzing fear of fraud. Comptroller Peter Franchot called for a quicker response in a future pandemic situation Tuesday. The comptroller heads a work group that is reviewing how state pandemic aid was spent. “Here’s the problem: We are paralyzed in this country by this notion of fraud,” said Franchot. “We see a lot of (fraud) … but we’re paralyzed by it. Scared of our own shadows. We don’t want to give the money unless there is a 25-page application filled out in detail.”