More than $200 billion in Covid aid disbursed by the Small Business Administration may have been stolen by fraudsters

More than $200 billion in Covid aid disbursed by the Small Business Administration may have been stolen by fraudsters.

This would represent 17% of the $1.2 trillion disbursed by SBA.

More than $136 billion from Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and $64 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program loans was potentially stolen, the inspector general found.

SBA figures show that 12% of the loans went to borrowers who are past due, most of whom are likely real businesses that are closed or simply unable to repay, DeVries said. Some 74% of businesses have either fully repaid or begun to repay their loans while 14% are still in the deferment period, she said.

Per CNBC: "The inspector general office’s investigations have led to more than 1,000 indictments, 803 arrests and 529 convictions related to fraud in the loan programs, according to the report. These investigations have led to nearly $30 billion in stolen loans being seized or returned by federal law enforcement agencies."