PPE Fraud? Website Brings Potential Abuse Front And Center
The News Examiner-Enterprise was recently made aware of a website maintained by ProPublica that allows users to view, by zip code, Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans made to businesses that were affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, shutdowns and other restrictions imposed upon businesses throughout the United States, Louisiana and here in St. James Parish.
Now, through this editorial I am not accusing any one business or individual, or making light of what seems to have transpired, but just take a look for yourself and you will quickly see what I am so concerned about.
The PPP, which officially ended on May 31, 2021, was a loan program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll during the Covid pandemic.
PPP loans, which can be forgiven, could be used to help fund payroll costs, including benefits, and may also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020, and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations.
Now, the intent of the PPP was to help legitimate businesses, not to fund fictitious businesses created just to scam the program and put money in people’s pockets. That would be fraud!
Also, the funding allocated by Congress for PPP ran dry weeks before the program was set to expire, which meant millions of legitimate businesses that applied were unable to receive any help.
To access the information, all you have to do is search the link https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/ or do a search for ProPublica PPP loan tracker and you will find the website.
Also, the data comes from the SBA and includes lender-approved loans under the PPP as of March 3, 2021. Other loan programs, such as Economic Injury Disaster Loans, are not included in this database.
Once you arrive at the PPP Tracker just type in the zip code you would like to view and buckle up. It’s astonishing.
In Lutcher (70071) 100+ loans were made, more than 100 in Gramercy (70052), 70 loans in Paulina, over 100 in Vacherie, seven in Hester (70743), 78 loans in Convent, and over 100 in St. James.
Now here is the problem. According to St. James Parish Economic Development Board member Steve Nosacka, there are just under 500 legally operating businesses in St. James Parish. Do a quick run of the numbers and you will see the number of loans awarded no where near match the number of legitimate businesses. And, as you will see, many legitimate businesses we all know and do business with did not apply for or did not receive a PPP loan, which makes the alleged fraud that much worse.
When you search the site and see a suspect name or business, click on said name and more details, details such as what type of business the applicant operates, how much PPP money the “business” received, and who was the lender of the funds, will be made available.
I don’t know about you, but if all the loans are for legitimate businesses (businesses applicants have been operating for two or more years), then the streets of St. James Parish should be lined with all sorts of businesses - businesses such as barber shops, beauty salons, nail salons, landscapers, interior design companies, catering businesses, car wash businesses, janitorial services, mobile food businesses, and the list goes on. Also, the streets should be littered with taxi companies and courier services.
The following are some of the more unusual industries PPP loans awarded in St. James Parish were approved under:
*Construction, Mining, and Forestry Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing
*Retail Bakeries
*Other Personal Care Services
*Childrens & Infant Clothing Stores
*Snack & Non-alcoholic Beverage Bars
*Local Messengers & Local Delivery
*Independent Artists, Writers and Performers
*Locksmiths
Many of these loans are 100% legitimate, made through legitimate lenders, and the businesses who applied and were successful were helped.
However, this is a small community and it is very easy to see that fraud has occurred and many of the lenders, lenders you or I have never heard of, have taken advantage of people by charging them a fee to potentially commit a crime.
Those who took advantage of a crisis, a real crisis that devastated many small and local businesses and the lives of their employees, should be held accountable.
Stay tuned as the News Examiner-Enterprise is in the process of determining the right authority or agency to report potential fraud surrounding fraudulent PPP loans.