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[Bentley. HARRIS!]

https://www.pogo.org/investigation/2021/04/red-flags-the-first-year-of-covid-19-loan-fraud-cases/

More than a year after the pandemic brought much of the economy to a standstill, mounting fraud cases underscore how the Small Business Administration's (SBA) oversight of its massive taxpayer-backed lending programs proved to be inadequate as they became magnets for fraudsters.

The Justice Department has brought criminal charges against at least 209 individuals in 119 cases related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud since banks and other lenders began processing loan applications on behalf of the Small Business Administration on April 3, 2020. And these cases are just the beginning.

A Project On Government Oversight (POGO) review of court filings up to April 2, 2021, found that the charged individuals allegedly sought a total of nearly $445 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. (In late March, the Justice Department told Congress that it had "charged $446.8 million in losses related to PPP." Some of these cases may still be under seal and charges are routinely being unsealed.) More than half of that amount—$246 million—actually went to accused fraudsters. In other words, lenders and the Small Business Administration did not prevent the alleged fraud in these instances before taxpayer dollars went out the door.

Created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program has lent out $755 billion to businesses as of April 11. Congress also authorized the Small Business Administration's existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to lend in response to the pandemic, and nearly $202 billion in loans through that program have been approved as of April 1.

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At least one Small Business Administration employee allegedly took bribes last year to process fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster loans, according to criminal charges recently unveiled by the Justice Department related to the developing scandal involving Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Both programs lacked basic anti-fraud safeguards and the Small Business Administration exercised insufficient oversight, according to the agency's watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, and congressional committees that have investigated the programs.

The number of potentially questionable loans approved through these programs is vast, as will be the task of determining how many of those loans were fraudulent or otherwise improper. An internal analysis last fall by the Small Business Administration identified "over 2 million approved PPP loan guarantees" worth some $189 billion that were "potentially" not in compliance with the law, though it may turn out that many of those loans were not fraudulent.

The Justice Department has accused numerous defendants of using Paycheck Protection Program loans for unlawful purposes, such as purchasing private planes, sports cars, and taking pricey trips to Las Vegas casinos.

POGO's analysis of the first full year's worth of Paycheck Protection Program fraud cases found that in at least:

107 of the cases, accused individuals allegedly falsified payroll documentation to justify either getting a loan or getting a bigger loan then they were eligible for;
93 of the cases, accused individuals allegedly created fake tax documents used for verifying details in loan applications;
41 of the cases, accused individuals allegedly created bogus companies to get loans;
28 of the cases, accused individuals allegedly used defunct companies to get loans;
20 of the cases, accused individuals used stolen identities or aliases while applying for loans;
12 of the cases, accused individuals allegedly falsified ownership of existing legitimate businesses;
28 of the cases, accused individuals also obtained Economic Injury Disaster loans (some of these individuals have been accused of fraudulently obtaining these loans as well).
Some of these cases involve multiple defendants. For instance, in one larger case, the Justice Department has charged 19 individuals to date. As of late March, the department has obtained 48 convictions.

Law enforcement insiders say many more pandemic loan fraud cases will be brought in the months and years ahead.

[Bentley. HARRIS!]

SSSSSSSS

and you know fckn WHAT

take all these fake ass forex and nigger stock market gurus to jail with them

SICK of these broke phaggs tryna act like they know finances. Nigger you can't even manage a regular paycheck and you had the audacity to claim like you're a businessman

it's insulting to the ppl who have legitimately built minority owned business off the sweat off of our back

take these fckn Monkeys to jail

[Hatsumomo]

A lot of my family members did it ..they finna gag 

[I. Hate. Monica.]

I wanna see these niggas FRY 

[I. Hate. Monica.]

A lot of my family members did it ..they finna gag

[Barbie Dangerous]

 

[CHOKE]

Ion know what ANY of this means
Is this like food stamps?

[L0NZ.]

What's a food stamp?

[Hatsumomo]

n

[stillpretty]

What's a food stamp?

something U use when ur mailing stuff like fancy chocolates etc

[Barbie Dangerous]

What's a food stamp?

something U use when ur mailing stuff like fancy chocolates etc

Ah. I always thought it was a Weight Watchers program

[CHOKE]

No

It's like a credit card for poor people

[stillpretty]

Brhfhfhhfhdhhdhdhjjjj

U think u know everything

[CHOKE]

[Bigmacthawoppa]

What's a food stamp?

something U use when ur mailing stuff like fancy chocolates etc