U.S. House Small Business Committee Holds Hearing on Fraud and the PPP

The United States House of Representatives Committee on Small Business conducted a hearing today to discuss ongoing fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and potential remedies. This hearing follows a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that the Small Business Administration (SBA) neglected critical oversight procedures for the PPP, which left the program susceptible to fraud.

Witness William Shear, Director of Financial Markets and Community Investment at the GAO, stated that the SBA has been obstructing attempts by the GAO to acquire loan-level data and assist in fraud prevention. He suggested that going forward, the SBA should work hand-in-hand with the GAO to implement internal safeguards to prevent fraudsters from infiltrating the impending loan-forgiveness process.

Thus far, the Department of Justice has issued charges in over 50 cases of PPP fraud. In addition, there have been reports of duplicate loan applications, applications under fraudulent names, identity theft, and phishing scams related to the Paycheck Protection Program.

To read the GAO Report, click here.

To watch the hearing, click here.