The Biden administration has made it clear that it will take action against scammers who have stolen billions in COVID relief funds. The administration directed federal agencies to step up their efforts to investigate and prosecute fraud.
Book a Consultation CallThe Biden administration has made it clear that it will take action against scammers who have stolen billions in COVID relief funds. The administration has directed federal agencies to step up their efforts to investigate and prosecute fraud related to pandemic relief programs.
The relief programs were established to provide financial support to individuals and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, scammers have taken advantage of these programs and have stolen billions of dollars.
The Biden administration has taken several steps to combat this fraud. It has created a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to coordinate investigations and prosecutions across multiple agencies. The task force is also working to increase public awareness of COVID-19 fraud and how to report it.
In addition, the administration has directed federal agencies to take a more proactive approach to preventing fraud. This includes improving fraud detection systems and sharing data across agencies to identify fraudulent activity.
The Biden administration has also made it clear that it will hold those who engage in COVID-19 fraud accountable. The Department of Justice has already brought several cases against individuals and companies that have defrauded the relief programs.
There have been various estimates of the amount of fraud that has occurred in COVID-19 relief programs. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in November 2020, the federal government had distributed more than $2.6 trillion in pandemic relief funds as of September 2020, and the GAO estimated that improper payments, including fraud, could range from $2 billion to $4 billion.
However, more recent estimates suggest that the amount of fraud could be higher. According to a report from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) released in January 2021, there were "significant levels of fraud" in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, with estimated losses of $4.6 billion to $5.4 billion. More recent estimates put the number at $60 billion.
In February 2021, the Department of Justice announced that it had charged more than 150 individuals with COVID-19 related fraud, including schemes related to PPP and EIDL. The DOJ also announced that it had recovered more than $580 million in COVID-19 related fraud cases.
So while it's difficult to estimate the exact amount of fraud that has occurred in COVID-19 relief programs, it's clear that it has been a significant problem.
If you have a EIDL loan issue of more that $30,000, contact our law firm to reserve a consultation time.
Millions of Dollars in SBA Debts Resolved via Offer in Compromise and Negotiated Repayment Agreements without our Clients filing for Bankruptcy or Facing Home Foreclosure
Millions of Dollars in Treasury Debts Defended Against via AWG Hearings, Treasury Offset Program Resolution, Cross-servicing Disputes, Private Collection Agency Representation, Compromise Offers and Negotiated Repayment Agreements
Our Attorneys are Authorized by the Agency Practice Act to Represent Federal Debtors Nationwide before the SBA, The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, the Treasury Department, and the Bureau of Fiscal Service.
Client personally guaranteed SBA 7(a) loan balance of $58,000. The client received a notice of Intent to initiate Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) Proceedings. We represented the client at the hearing and successfully defeated the AWG Order based on several legal and equitable grounds.
The client personally guaranteed an SBA 504 loan balance of $375,000. Debt had been cross-referred to the Treasury at the time we got involved with the case. We successfully had debt recalled to the SBA where we then presented an SBA OIC that was accepted for $58,000.
Clients executed personal and corporate guarantees for an SBA 7(a) loan from a Preferred Lender Provider (PLP). The borrower corporation defaulted on the loan exposing all collateral pledged by the Clients. The SBA subsequently acquired the loan balance from the PLP, including the right to collect against all guarantors. The SBA sent the Official Pre-Referral Notice to the guarantors giving them sixty (60) days to either pay the outstanding balance in full, negotiate a Repayment (Offer in Compromise (OIC) or Structured Workout (SW)), challenge their alleged guarantor liability or file a Request for Hearing (Appeals Petition) with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals.
Because the Clients were not financially eligible for an OIC, they opted for Structured Workout negotiations directly with the SBA before the debt was transferred to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury for enforced collection.
The Firm was hired to negotiate a global Workout Agreement directly with the SBA to resolve the personal and corporate guarantees. After submitting the Structured Workout proposal, the assigned SBA Loan Specialist approved the requested terms in under ten (10) days without any lengthy back and forth negotiations.
The favorable terms of the Workout included an extended maturity at an affordable principal amount, along with a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Clients approximately $181,000 in administrative fees, penalties and interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)) as authorized by 31 U.S.C. § 3717(e) had the SBA loan been transferred to BFS.
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