With “at least” 70,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans showing signs of fraud and the total cost of fraud under the program exceeding $80 billion, federal authorities are carefully scrutinizing loan recipients’ applications and forgiveness certifications. But loan recipients aren’t the only ones under the microscope. Federal authorities are scrutinizing unsuccessful applications as well, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed charges against several individuals that failed to obtain PPP loans through fraud.

In June 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General released a report in which it concluded that “at least 17 percent of all COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors.” This means that more than $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds went to individuals and businesses that didn’t qualify to receive them.