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Lessons From the Largest Fraud in a Generation
by Nick Chandi
The first charges against Payment Protection Program fraud were filed in May 2020 — barely a month after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed. The man in question was seeking over half a million dollars in fraudulent loans for businesses that did not exist or had long closed before COVID-19. Since then, small and midsize business (SMB) lending fraud has increased by 8.3%. At least 100 individuals have been charged and no one, not even celebrities, have been spared. Some estimate that $80 billion was stolen in PPP fraud schemes, about 10% of the money disbursed via 21 million PPP loans. Experts say this may be the single largest fraud in our generation. How did this happen? Click HERE to learn how, and what can be done to prevent it in the future.
