Small business loans could become target of fraud and a government watchdog is already trying to stop it
March 31, 2020 / By Lauren Fox, CNN
(CNN) – As small businesses across the country clamor to apply for loans under the $2 trillion stimulus package, work is already being done to try and reduce any outbreak of fraud in the program.
Behind the scenes, conversations have begun with law enforcement partners around the country to ensure that the Small Business Administration’s expansion of loans is disbursed to the people intended to receive the funding, according to a spokesman from the Office of the Inspector General.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview with Fox Business Monday that the small business loans included in the stimulus package amounting in nearly $350 billion would become available as soon as Friday. And, as he’s pledged to get checks cut at “lightning speed,” the Inspector General’s office at SBA is working to try and educate consumers, lenders and law enforcement about what signs to look for to stamp out fraudsters.
But the sheer volume of the money going out the door is a challenge. For an agency that gave out $28 billion in 2019, doling out $350 billion in a matter of months will be an unprecedented scale especially given the tight timeline.
The SBA will have an influx of tech support to help it streamline the loan process. “SBA has hired Microsoft and Amazon to help the agency implement the Paycheck Protection Program,” according to a source familiar with the situation, who described it as “unprecedented public-private partnership.”
