The Paycheck Protection Program lent more than $1 billion to small businesses that violated the rules of the program, a House investigative committee said Tuesday.
In a preliminary report, investigators said the PPPP “helped millions of small businesses and non-profit organizations stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis, but a lack of oversight and accountability from the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) may have led to billions of dollars being diverted to fraud, waste, and abuse, rather than reaching small businesses truly in need.”
Problematic issues identified by the investigators include:
- More than 10,000 loans worth a total of over $1 billion that went to companies that received multiple loans from the PPP, in violation of the rules.
- More than 600 loans worth nearly $100 million made to small businesses that have been debarred or suspended from doing business with the government.
- More than 350 loans worth nearly $200 million made to contractors that have had problems with performance or integrity.
- More than 11,000 loans worth nearly $3 billion made to companies whose information doesn’t match other federal databases.
- Hundreds of loans with missing information.
Republicans on the committee released their own report on the PPP Tuesday, which praises President Trump’s “swift action” on the PPP and declares the program a “resounding success.”
