111,620 California borrowers suspected of committing $8.6 billion of pandemic-era fraud have been suspended by the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced Friday.
“I’m here in San Diego, standing at an address that is registered to 14 businesses that took $2 million in pandemic-era loans Those loans haven’t been paid back,” Administrator Loeffler says in a social media video reporting the suspensions.
“But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Loeffler adds:
“Today, the SBA is announcing we’re suspending 112,000 California borrowers who took potentially upwards of $9 billion.
“We’re going to continue to work with our federal partners to ensure accountability for COVID-era fraud that the Biden Administration tried to sweep under the rug.”
Suspended borrowers are prohibited from executing new small business and disaster loans and are not eligible for other SBA programs such as federal contracting in the 8(a) Business Development Program.
The suspended borrowers obtained the money via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program, both of which helped businesses stay afloat and continue to keep their workers employed during the COVID-19 crisis.
“This staggering number represents the most significant crack-down on those who defrauded pandemic programs, and it illuminates the scale of corruption that the Biden Administration tolerated for years,” Loeffler says.
“We’re not looking the other way. We’re prosecuting. There’s going to be more to come,” Loeffler promises in her video.
“Just like Minnesota, California is another state whose socialist welfare policies have invited fraud,” Loeffler explains.
In Minnesota, SBA suspended 6,900 borrowers associated with 7,900 potentially fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans worth approximately $400 million.
The suspensions in California and Minnesota are part of SBA’s state-by-state initiative to crack down on $200 billion of suspected pandemic-era fraud it says went unaddressed during the Biden Administration. The goal is not only to punish those who defrauded American taxpayers, but also to recoup the stolen funds.
“Under this Administration, any fraudster who broke the law will no longer get a free pass. All they’ll get is a free trip to jail,” SBA’s Loeffler warns.
🚨SBA suspends 111,620 California borrowers connected to $8.6 BILLION in suspected pandemic fraud:
— Kelly Loeffler (@SBA_Kelly) February 6, 2026
California, just like Minnesota, invites criminals to abuse the system with socialist welfare policies. Fraud scaled up massively during the pandemic - and the Biden Admin failed… pic.twitter.com/fMlgPDYsNy
