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The Small Business Administration (SBA) has referred over 550,000 suspected fraudulent loans with a total value of more than $22 billion to the Treasury for investigation.
The borrowers “are tied to $22.2 billion in delinquent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans,” the SBA said.
The PPP was a COVID-19-era loan program that helped businesses retain their employees, and EIDL provided loans and advances to businesses to help them recover from the worst impacts of the pandemic.
According to the SBA, about $200 billion of the $1.2 trillion in PPP and EIDL loans handed out between 2020 and 2021 were fraudulent.
The Biden administration failed to refer 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans to the Treasury.
“Until today, none of the 560,000 borrowers had been compelled to repay the $22.2 billion they owed American taxpayers. Fewer than 1,000 of these borrowers had been subject to investigations by the SBA Office of Inspector General,” the SBA said.
“With today’s referral, Treasury will begin collecting on the outstanding debt as part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to recouping stolen pandemic-era funds on behalf of American taxpayers and small business owners.”
The referral is the largest in SBA history. It has been coordinated with the new White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, headed by Vice President JD Vance.
The Task Force was established in mid-March by President Trump, who described it as a “very big thing.”
“The kind of money we’re talking about is country-changing,” the President said.
It’s reckoned as much as $300 billion is stolen every year from government programs by fraudsters.
The Epoch Times reports, “In addition to the recent referral of 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans to the Treasury, the SBA has cracked down on fraud, especially related to the pandemic-era, in recent months.
“On Jan. 1, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agency suspended 6,900 borrowers in Minnesota after reviewing thousands of potentially fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans approved in the state.
“These borrowers received 7,900 loans totaling approximately $400 million. Loeffler said the people involved in the fraud would be banned from taking part in any SBA loan programs moving forward.
“On Feb. 6, the SBA announced suspensions for 111,620 borrowers in California due to suspected fraud in PPP and EIDL loans. These borrowers received 118,489 loans totaling more than $8.6 billion.”
