2009 Stimulus bill: the prosecutions begin

Politico reports that law enforcement is now catching up with Obama's 2009 Stimulus/Porkulus bill:

In written testimony prepared for delivery to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, Inspector General Gregory Friedman said the investigations have involved "various schemes, including the submission of false information, claims for unallowable or unauthorized expenses, and other improper uses of Recovery Act funds."

So far, the investigations have led to five criminal prosecutions and brought in "over $2.3 million in monetary recoveries," Friedman said.

Why wasn't the stimulus money well-spent?  In the case of the Dept. of Energy, here is one clue:

The stimulus funding DOE received — more than $35 billion — was greater than previous annual budgets for the entire agency, most notably its $27 billion in funding for fiscal 2011.