Small Business Administration head says agency found $200 billion in fradulent pandemic loans

Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler said that the agency found $200 billion in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were intended to allow businesses to pay staff during the pandemic. 

"At the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide, and forgive, and sweep under the rug," Loeffler said during President Donald Trump's Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Wednesday. 

She said that $22 billion in those fraudulent loans have been turned over to the U.S. Treasury and Department of Justice for collections and prosecution, and people who have been convicted of fraud are serving prison sentences. 

Loeffler said that, because small businesses are some of the biggest taxpayers in the U.S., they bear a lot of the impact from fraud. 

"They show up every day. They work hard to provide for their employees, to build their businesses. They're doing it the honest way. And they see fraudsters taking from the American people. It's taxpayer money," she said. 

The PPP provided government-backed loans to help small businesses keep their workforces employed during the pandemic. The program stopped accepting new applications on May 31, 2021.