Congressman Krishnamoorthi Presents New Report On Trump Administration Failure To Prevent COVID Aid Fraud As It Disbursed $86 Billion To Potentially Fraudulent Applications

WASHINGTON – In today's hearing of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis (SSCC) titled "Examining Federal Efforts to Prevent, Detect, and Prosecute Pandemic Relief Fraud," Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi presented the subcommittee's new report documenting the Trump Administration's failure to protect critical pandemic relief funds from fraud. The subcommittee's analysis found that nearly 98% of DOJ's prosecutions of fraud involving the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program concerned fraudulent applications submitted during the Trump Administration. For loans under the EIDL system prior to the pandemic, the SBA had employed a "Rule of Two" control, which required that two SBA employees review and approve a loan application. But the SBA OIG found that this control was abandoned for EIDL loans related to the pandemic, opening the floodgates to fraud at a time when the misused funds could have delivered much-needed relief to qualifying American businesses.

"As our subcommittee's report shows, the Trump Administration failed to safeguard vital pandemic relief programs and disbursed $86 billion in EIDL loans and advances to potentially fraudulent applications at a time when actual American businesses were in desperate need of help," said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "I urge the Inspector General Offices and the Department of Justice to continue efforts to hold those accountable who took advantage of the Trump Administration's failure to protect American taxpayers as our subcommittee continues our own work to prevent such fraud from happening again."

Footage of Congressman Krishnamoorthi's question line is available here and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis's report "Idle on EIDL Fraud: How the Trump Administration Wasted Taxpayer Dollars by Leaving the COVID-19 EIDL Program Vulnerable to Fraud" was released today and is available here.