WASHINGTON — Today, in consultation with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the suspension of 27,486 Ohio borrowers connected to approximately $1.1 billion in suspected fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) activity. The announcement comes after SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and members of the Task Force held a press conference in Ohio to announce new fraud enforcement actions across the state – including indictments against four alleged Ohio-based pandemic fraudsters tied to over $1.4 million in pandemic-era fraud.
“The Trump Administration delivered a clear message in Ohio today: if you defraud federal programs at any level, we will find you, and work with law enforcement to hold you accountable,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Vice President Vance’s leadership of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud represents a historic partnership that is delivering unprecedented wins in the fight to root out fraud and recover taxpayer dollars, while past Administrations looked the other way at known criminal activity. At the Trump SBA, we are ensuring that those who defrauded pandemic relief loans — meant for legitimate small businesses — will not only lose access to our programs, they will also answer for their crimes in a court of law. We will continue to work at the federal level and on a state-by-state basis to advance accountability and recover taxpayer funds.”
These latest suspensions are part of the SBA’s state-by-state effort to identify and take action against borrowers suspected of defrauding the agency’s pandemic relief loan programs. This year, the SBA has announced suspensions against 6,900 Minnesota borrowers tied to approximately $400 million in suspected fraud, 112,000 California borrowers tied to $8.6 billion in suspected fraud, and 1,500 Maine borrowers tied to $93 million in suspected fraud. Suspended borrowers are prohibited from receiving future small business and disaster loans and are not eligible for other SBA programs such as federal contracting in the 8(a) Business Development Program.
These announcements represent the latest victory for the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in its effort to root out pandemic relief fraud, recover taxpayer dollars, and hold bad actors accountable. In April, working in coordination with the Task Force, SBA launched its largest fraud enforcement action to date — and the largest referral package in agency history — by referring more than 560,000 suspected fraudulent borrowers tied to $22 billion in pandemic-era loans to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection.
Separately, the DOJ has charged four Ohio individuals as part of a conspiracy scheme to defraud the government out of more than $1.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of businesses, prompting the SBA and its lenders to approve the loans and ultimately forgive the entire amount of each loan. Defendants allegedly provided false information on their PPP loan applications and misused the proceeds on personal expenses. If convicted, the defendants could face criminal penalties including restitution, fines, and imprisonment.
