Is there a PPP loan warrant list? No. See list of COVID-era borrowers
Is there a PPP loan warrant list? No. See list of COVID-era borrowers
Bonnie Bolden, Mississippi Clarion LedgerWed, May 13, 2026 at 2:51 PM UTC
0
Is there a PPP loan warrant list? No. See list of COVID-era borrowers
Millions of COVID-relief loans kept businesses afloat. Now, a fraction of borrowers are under scrutiny as federal agencies ramp up efforts to recover funds or prosecute suspected fraud. But identifying who’s under investigation isn’t as straightforward as some claims online suggest.
In April, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, referred 562,000 loans suspected of fraud to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection.
About $22.2 billion delinquent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) were flagged for suspected fraud during the Biden administration, according to an SBA news release. Those accounts were not sent to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation or to the Treasury for collection.
According to the SBA, fewer than 1,000 of the borrowers had been investigated by the SBA's Office of Inspector General.
There is no guarantee that the new investigations will lead to legal charges. There is not a publicly available list of warrants for people accused of COVID-era loan fraud at this time.
The SBA OK'd $1.2 trillion in COVID-EIDL loans in 2020 and 2021. Of that, the SBA's OIG now estimates that $200 billion, about 16%, might have been received through fraud. Other fraud cases have already been investigated and heard in court, with some leading to convictions.
What are PPP loans?
The Paycheck Protection Program started in the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic under President Donald Trump's first administration. The relief was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
The government loans were low-interest or forgivable. The goal was to help businesses stay open amid shutdowns and the strong economic downturn experienced during the pandemic.
The SBA OK'd $793 billion spread out over 11.5 million small businesses by the time the program closed on May 31, 2021, according to information from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC). By October 2022, 10.5 million loans had been forgiven. To qualify for PPP forgiveness, businesses had to use at least 60% of the money to cover payroll.
The money from loans had to be used on specific expenses:
Payroll
Utilities
Insurance premiums
Rent and interest that was already committed to
What are the charges for PPP loan fraud?
Charges depend on the kind of fraud being alleged.
Advertisement
Some people are accused of using false information to get the money. According to PRAC, about $79 billion in loans may have been received by using stolen or invalid Social Security numbers. Others could have misrepresented their income to get $860 million.
Other borrowers might not have used the funds as required.
A separate group is accused of submitting fake certifications that they met the forgiveness criteria.
According to Oberheiden P.C., a law firm that defends people accused of PPP loan fraud, there is a short list of common charges.
Bank fraud
Wire fraud
Conspiracy
Violations of the False Claims Act
Aggravated identity theft
Tax evasion
Separate charges could result from giving false statements to the SBA, FDIC-insured banks or federal agents.
Is there a PPP warrant list?
There is no public list of warrants for only people accused of PPP loan fraud at this time.
Some social media users have shared databases of all borrowers, falsely claiming it's a list of people facing charges.
PPP loan database lists all borrowers by state
In the database below, you can look up people and businesses who got PPP loans by state.
Being listed in the database is not a sign that the person or entity committed fraud.
According to PRAC, if a person's forgiven amount listed exceeds the loan amount, that's because interest was included in the forgiveness.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Is there a PPP loan warrant list? No. See list of COVID-era borrowers
Source: “AOL Money”
