By Michael Katz | Tuesday, 27 June 2023 08:06 PM EDT
More than $200 billion in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds were distributed to potentially fraudulent recipients, a report from the inspector general of the Small Business Administration showed.
The report, released Tuesday by the Office of Inspector General Hannibal "Mike" Ware, said the estimate represents 17% of the $1.2 trillion of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds doled out by the agency.
"Since SBA did not have an established strong internal control environment for approving and disbursing program funds, there was an insufficient barrier against fraudsters accessing funds that should have been available for eligible business owners adversely affected by the pandemic," the report found.
Ware's office said its investigation, as of May, resulted in 1,011 indictments, 803 arrests and 529 convictions related to COVID-19 EIDL and PPP fraud. Its collaboration with the SBA, the Secret Service, other federal agencies, and financial institutions resulted in nearly $30 billion in COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds being seized or returned to the SBA.
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/small-business-administration-covid-19-pandemic/2023/06/27/id/1125153/
