Chinese government-affiliated hackers stole more than $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds dedicated to small businesses and unemployment benefits, the Secret Service revealed.

The theft was discovered as part of a larger investigation in which $286 million was recovered in August, traced back to 15,000 fake accounts created at a Texas bank. Approximately $87 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans have gone missing since the federal program was formed in the COVID-19 pandemic's early stages.

This latest development identifies a hacking group called APT41 as the culprit, a “Chinese state-sponsored, cyberthreat group that is highly adept at conducting espionage missions and financial crimes for personal gain,” the Secret Service told NBC News .

“The United States is target No. 1 because we are competitor No. 1,” said Nathaniel Fick, head of the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. “It’s a really comprehensive, multidecade, well-considered, well-resourced, well-planned, well-executed strategy.”