Kelly Loeffler said small businesses have been among the hardest hit by fraud involving federal relief programs, pointing to billions of dollars in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans that she said were identified by the Small Business Administration.

Loeffler said fraud in federal programs hurts taxpayers and legitimate businesses that operate lawfully while others exploit government assistance programs.

“I'll tell you the other thing about fraud,” Loeffler said.

“Small businesses are particularly hurt by the fraud, because they're some of our biggest taxpayers in the country, and they show up every day.”

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Loeffler said small business owners work to build their companies, support employees and follow the law while fraudsters take taxpayer money.

“They work hard to provide for their employees, to build their businesses,” Loeffler said.

“They're working, they're doing it the honest way, and they see fraudsters taking from the American people.”

She stressed that the stolen funds come directly from taxpayers.

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“It's taxpayer money,” Loeffler said.

Loeffler said the SBA found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that she accused the Biden administration of trying to conceal, forgive and avoid addressing.

“And so you think about at the SBA, we found $200 billion in fraudulent PPP loans that the Biden administration tried to hide and forgive and sweep under the rug,” Loeffler said.

According to Loeffler, the SBA has already referred the first $22 billion for collection and prosecution.

“We've turned the first $22 billion of that over to Treasury for collections and to DOJ for prosecution,” Loeffler said.

Loeffler said enforcement efforts are already leading to criminal consequences for fraudsters.

“Our inspector general is already announcing that people are going to jail,” Loeffler said.

“There are jail sentences now being served.”

She also said 140,000 people have been blocked from receiving future SBA loans after defrauding the government of about $9 billion.

“We've announced that 140,000 people have been barred from ever getting SBA loans again, defrauding the government for about $9 billion,” Loeffler said.

Loeffler said the agency will continue its anti-fraud work with help from Vice President J.D. Vance’s leadership.

“So we are going to continue our work under the great leadership of Vice President Vance and appreciate the partnership, because it's really accelerated our ability to get the job done,” Loeffler said.

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The remarks focused on fraud involving PPP loans and the broader impact on taxpayers and small businesses.

Loeffler said small businesses that operate legally and pay taxes are hurt when government relief programs are exploited by fraudsters, while enforcement efforts are now moving toward collections, prosecution, jail sentences and future loan bans for those accused of defrauding the government.

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