How much taxpayer money was squandered on the fake rescue operation?
A LOT!
A lot of people were blaming the US for the delay in getting the equipment out to search site. Then there was a question of why the company waited so long to sound the alarm
Perhaps in both cases it is because they knew what really had happened...and all of this was for show.
Of course, on the slight chance the Navy was wrong and they were really alive then it would have been a far worse PR problem that they died because of inaction
Billions.