Greenberg is a friend of Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, and both were identified in a recent New York Times report as having allegedly paid women for sex, as well as potentially a 17-year-old girl. The Government alleged that Christopher and Erin Mazzei submitted fraudulent loan applications and obtained over $1.3 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The Small Business Administration distributed 5.8 million advance grants worth $20 billion last year (despite the name, these are not loans that have to be repaid). The following data was provided by the SBA & US Treasury Department showing a breakdown of all the name of companies who received PPP loans over $150,000. Braddock, a tiny town in Pennsylvania, may be at the core of a PPP fraud network. In email and text exchanges, defendants acknowledged that a number of the companies did no legitimate business, disqualifying them from receiving the loans. The primary federal agencies that are currently conducting PPP loan fraud investigations are: 1. Pape and Jung used more than $3600 from the fraud scheme to pay for a stay at a resort in San Antonio, Texas, according to the Justice Department. See our documentation for more information. PPP Loan Recipient List By State . The U.S. SBA regularly publishes EIDL loan data for all past EIDL loan recipients. a different set of 19 loan recipients traced back to an office park about 30 minutes . 23-Year-Old Charged with Submitting Fraudulent PPP Loan Applications In February 2021, the DOJ filed charges against a 23-year-old New York resident who is accused of submitting multiple fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of a single company. He added though that hes not optimistic that grants directed to help restaurants will be included in the next round of federal stimulus so getting more PPP loans would be the best alternative. NLRB Places New Limitations on Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Settlement Will Benefit Many Aging-Out Children in the Green Card SEC Commissioner Discusses Reform to Regulation D, Massachusetts AG Settles Enforcement Action Against Auto Lender. For instance, in a review for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the nonprofit MITRE Corporation examined a sample of 500 records for Paycheck Protection Program loans above $150,000. Firm estimates of fraud related to CARES Act spending, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, may not be available until many more cases are brought and more analysis has been conductedpotentially years away. On June 28, 2020, the day loan applications were filed for the two companies, Greenberg reinstated the companies with Floridas state government since they had been administratively dissolved years prior to the February 2020 eligibility cutoff. In order to avoid repaying their loans, PPP recipients must certify to compliance with the terms of the program. (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.) California. $103B TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT. Unlike the previous round of the PPP, loan guaranty approval is now contingent on passing SBA fraud checks, Treasurys Do Not Pay database, and public records, the fact sheet states. In a case that garnered national attention, the U.S. Secret Service seized over $8.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds from a seemingly bogus ministry in Orlando, Florida that had no apparent operations at its physical location and a website filled with generic language taken from other religious organizations. There was a problem saving your notification. Grossman told POGO, we expect a lot more civil enforcement.. The names and addresses of businesses receiving PPP loans greater than $150,000 were released in a public dataset. Loans through that program were directly processed by the Small Business Administration, while in the Paycheck Protection Program, loans were primarily processed by banks and other lenders. Under the False Claims Act (FCA) as well as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), either the government or whistleblowers with non-public information can initiate civil enforcement actions. At $367 billion, the amount of disaster funds provided through the EIDL COVID program is more than three times the amount of disaster loan funds approved for all disasters combined since the SBA was created in 1953, wrote Jovita Carranza, then-head of the Small Business Administration, in December 2020. "The two operating components of the [SBA-OIG] are the Auditing Division and the Investigations Division. During the programs first round, the Small Business Administration issued 5.2 million loans between April and August 2020. Plastics industry insiders reveal the truth about recycling. Ryan Summers The Small Business Administration has released new details on more than 11.7 million Paycheck Protection Program loans, shedding light on this year's list of recipients. Evo Transportation & Energy Services, Inc. Recent CFPB Actions Focus on Protecting Military Families, New and Updated Guidance on the Scope of the UK Plastic Packaging Tax. National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 91, Public Services, Infrastructure, Transportation, The Benefits of Donating Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets. As of this month, weve seized over $580 million from over 23,000 fraudulent EIDL loans., Weve got a process in place that once weve identified, for instance, a bank account that has money sitting in it, that was deposited through a fraudulent EIDL loan, we contact the Secret Service, and they have a method to go in and seize those funds, Grossman said. In certified submissions to the federal government, the familys ministry claimed a substantial operation with 486 employees, a monthly payroll of over $2.76 million, and revenue exceeding $51 million in 2019. But according to the Justice Department, neither company paid anywhere near the purported amounts and had few if any employees. Kindambu pleaded guilty in January. Saintvils attorney declined to comment. SBA reveals full list of recipients of PPP loans. We also have compiled state-by-state files for download. On March 30, the Justice Department unveiled new charges against Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been actively pursuing these cases. More than half of that amount$246 millionactually went to accused fraudsters. But in March 2021, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General issued a report that found that lenders last year issued more than one Paycheck Protection Program loan to 4,260 borrowers with the same tax identification number and borrowers with the same business name and address. Those loans were worth a total of $692 million. Generally, cases where there is any substantial gray areasuch as a lack of unambiguous evidence of fraud or when it wasnt clear what a government rule requiredare far more likely to lead to civil enforcement, or to no enforcement. And there is a lot of gray area in the Paycheck Protection Program, partly because the Small Business Administrations rules for the program changed repeatedly and were unclear, and because Congress created loose criteria for loan eligibility and allowed applicants to self-certify their information. If a company is eligible for a loan and submits certifications in good faith, that company will have nothing to fear from the Civil Division. Linda Miller, the deputy executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, told Federal News Radio in September, My guess is when were all said and done, [the fraud rate is] going to be significantly higher than 5% in the case of the CARES Act. If it is just 5% of the combined $957 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster loans and advance grants, that would still be about $48 billion in fraud. Many believe a high percentage of these grants were stolen, but some federal prosecutors with heavy caseloads may find it hard to justify In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nations streets. This program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. POGO has sought additional data from the Small Business Administration, and to improve data collection. Do you agree with the new rules in the Major League Baseball this season which will make the games shorter. If you require legal or professional advice, kindly contact an attorney or other suitable professional advisor. Can Nonprecedential Decisions Be Relied Upon? The NLR does not wish, nor does it intend, to solicit the business of anyone or to refer anyone to an attorney or other professional. Free Speech Shines Bright, Illuminates Patent Owners Right to Allege California Supreme Court to Address Rounding of Employee Time. According to the Justice Department, Didier Kindambu obtained two loans by creating fraudulent payroll documentation for each business.. Search. Associate More than a year after the pandemic brought much of the economy to a standstill, mounting fraud cases underscore how the Small Business Administrations (SBA) oversight of its massive taxpayer-backed lending programs proved to be inadequate as they became magnets for fraudsters. The program provided those loans to 146,000 state businesses, an average of just under $35,000 per business. DC Circuit to Disputes Ancillary to Patent Matters: You Cant Sit Consumer Fraud PFAS Cases Continue To Rise. That decision will result in a tax hit for many businesses that took out PPP loans, he said. PPP Loans List. If convicted, the defendants could face several years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal finesas well as responsibility for repaying the fraudulently-obtained PPP loans. When facing a DOJ investigation, immediate defensive action is necessary. Paycheck Protection Program Loan Recipients on the Department of Treasury's Do Not Pay List, January 11, 2021. . criminally charging someone for stealing $10,000 or less. That new law permitted SBA to require additional information from applicants, such as tax returns, for loans and advances as part of its verification, according to Shear of the Government Accountability Office. For instance, the department may decline cases involving smaller-dollar amounts, especially in busier U.S. attorneys offices around the country, Grossman said. Ryan Summers is a research fellow for POGO. The oversight failures of the last year have become increasingly clear, eventually leading to changes. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Leaders of statewide business groups said they think the first round of PPP loans were vitally important to help businesses survive the pandemic economic slowdown and said another round of loans are needed now. The Trial Attorneys in the MIMF Unit prosecute cases involving, government procurement fraud, bank fraud, mortgage fraud, and . If Congress amends the underutilized Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, efforts by inspectors general to fight fraud in pandemic related spending would be enhanced, according to Horowitzs testimony. The data shown has been made available to the public by the SBA. The loans have to be repaid with low interest. Two years after going live, TAP hits a major milestone. NLR does not answer legal questions nor will we refer you to an attorney or other professional if you request such information from us. These bipartisan bills, signed into law in August 2022, establish a 10-year statute of limitations for all forms of PPP loan fraud and all COVID EIDL loan fraud. It soon became apparent that the Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs setup also made it particularly susceptible to fraud. The SBA now also conducts manual loan reviews for the largest loans in the PPP portfolio and a random sampling of other loans. Underscoring the tension between fraud prevention and disbursing assistance quickly, the added checks to verify information submitted by applicants have somewhat slowed the processing of loan applications. Theres a lot of red flags that they look at in the data to help us determine if its something we need to look at deeper.. Suspicious activity reports for small business loan fraud continued at levels far higher than normal through the end of 2020, according to POGOs review of federal data. There is further data we're working on for the loans under $150k however so check back in the future for that. The DOJ is Targeting All Types of PPP Loan Recipients The DOJ is targeting individuals and businesses in PPP loan fraud investigations, and it is targeting those who received loans of all sizes. Partner & Co-Chair Aqeel used some of the proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini sports car, according to the Justice Department. Click on a company's name to see additional loan details. Click on a company's name to see additional loan details. Previously, the SBA announced $15 billion in loans worth more than $150,000 had. In the three decades since the laws passage, there have been only six whistleblower settlements involving FIRREA, yielding $19.9 billion in recoveries, but only $9.3 million in rewards to whistleblowers, according to Whistleblower Network News. . Small Business Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act, is implemented by the Small Business Administration with support from the Department of the Treasury.