The loans were supposed to be used to financially assist businesses affected by the pandemic.
By Catholics for Catholics
For some, the COVID-19 pandemic was a harrowing time of illnesses and often seeing friends and loved ones die, but for others it was a time to nab some cool dollars in loan frauds, according to government investigators.
About $100 billion in loans given for COVID-19 programs have been identified as suspected fraud by tax authorities, according to a story by the Epoch Times.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) earlier this year referred more than $200 billion in suspected COVID loan fraud to the IRS.
In 2023, the SBA estimated that 20 percent of the $1.2 trillion pandemic relief program could have been obtained by fraud.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said: “The IRS’s identification of approximately $100 billion in suspected tax fraud sends a clear message: fraudsters who stole from SBA’s COVID-relief programs will … face accountability at the SBA.
“If they inflated payroll, fabricated employee counts, falsified business records, or otherwise lied to obtain taxpayer-funded loans, they will also face scrutiny from the IRS.”
According to the Times’ story, the federal government is projected to lose $233 billion to $521 billion annually to fraud, the Government Accountability Office said in an April 2024 report.
But the Trump administration has taken several steps to crack down on COVID-19 loan fraud.
In an April 24 statement, the SBA said it had referred 562,000 suspect loans to the Department of the Treasury for collection. These were PPP and COVID EIDL loans.
Legally compelled, the SBA has to refer delinquent debts to a Treasury bureau when they are considered to be sufficiently past due.
However, under the prior administration, the SBA failed to refer the 562,000 loans to authorities for investigation and collection, the statement said.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
