SBA Refers $22.2B in Suspected Fraud Loans to Treasury After Biden Oversight

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Small Business Administration announced on April 24, 2026, that it referred 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans worth $22.2 billion to the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service for collection, in coordination with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.[1][2] These delinquent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans were flagged for fraud during the Biden administration but never sent to Treasury or the Department of Justice for action, according to the SBA.[2][4] SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler stated, 'After extensive review, and with the strong support of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, we are taking our most decisive action yet to end a Biden-era scheme that protected over 560,000 borrowers tied to more than $22 billion in suspected pandemic-era fraud.'[1][2] The referral marks the SBA's largest ever package of suspected fraudulent loans, with Treasury now set to pursue recovery as part of the Trump administration's push to reclaim pandemic-era funds.[2][3] Previously, none of the 562,000 borrowers had been compelled to repay the $22.2 billion owed to taxpayers, and fewer than 1,000 faced investigations by the SBA Office of Inspector General.[1][4] The SBA also transmitted borrower details to the DOJ for potential prosecution.[2][3] Loeffler emphasized that the prior administration's inaction amounted to 'de facto amnesty and loan forgiveness.'[2] This action stems from Vice President J.D. Vance's Day One memo to the task force, which highlighted over 1,000,000 suspicious PPP loans amid the SBA's approval of approximately $1.2 trillion in PPP and EIDL loans from 2020 to 2021.[2][4] The agency estimates at least $200 billion of those funds were fraudulent, per its Office of the Inspector General.[1][2] Under the Trump SBA, new anti-fraud measures include citizenship and birth date verification, plus state-by-state investigations into fraudsters launched in early April 2026.[4] The SBA is legally required to refer sufficiently past-due debts to Treasury, a step the agency says was ignored under Biden despite internal flagging systems.[1][2] Loeffler told Fox News Digital, 'From Day One, the Trump SBA has worked tirelessly to crack down on billions in pandemic-era fraud that the Biden Administration forgave or ignored.'[3][4] Officials frame the referral as a commitment to American taxpayers and legitimate small business owners harmed by the fraud.