PPP Borrower Search (2024)

FAQs

What triggers PPP loan investigation? ›

Possible violations that could trigger a PPP fraud investigation include: Making false statements on your PPP loan application. Using the loan funds for purposes other than those allowed by the PPP guidelines. Falsifying your employee headcount or payroll expenses.

You can check your progress in the SBA direct forgiveness portal. If you submitted your application through your lender: Your lender can provide information about the progress of your forgiveness application.

The U.S. SBA regularly publishes PPP loan data for all past PPP loan recipients. All data in this search comes directly from the publicly available PPP data on the SBA website.

PPP loans (the full principal amount and any accrued interest) may be fully forgiven, meaning they do not have to be repaid. If you do not apply for forgiveness, you will have to repay the loan.

Who will be audited? PPP loans in excess of $2 million are automatically triggered for an audit by the SBA. The SBA has created a safe harbor for any PPP loan borrower that, together with its affiliates, received loans of less than $2 million.

Generally, if you are flagged for PPP fraud, you will be contacted by a federal agent from a law enforcement agency or other federal authorities regarding your loan under the CARES Act.

Can I go to jail for an improperly forgiven PPP loan? The short answer to this question is: "yes." If a portion (or all) of your PPP loan was forgiven improperly, you may be subject to IRS penalties as well as potential civil and criminal prosecution.

Payment receipts, cancelled checks, or account statements documenting the amount of any employer contributions to employee health insurance and retirement plans that the borrower included in the forgiveness amount.

Your Business Assets Will Be Seized and Liquidated

When your defaulted loan goes to collections, your lender will recoup the debt. They'll start by seizing the collateral you secured your loan against. In many cases, that means taking control of your business assets.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): For questions related to suspected identity theft, please contact PPPIDTheftInquiries@sba.gov. For all other PPP assistance, please contact the lender that issued the loan.

Will PPP loans be public record? ›

Frequently Requested Records

The publicly released PPP data is based on information submitted by the lender to SBA. For concerns about publicly released EIDL data, please email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Tracking Your PPP Loans and Expenses

To ensure that your loan is forgiven it is extremely important to keep accurate records. We recommend opening a separate bank account so you can easily track your expenses. Applications for loan forgiveness will be processed by your lender.

Can you use your whole PPP loan to replace your compensation? Theoretically, yes. A minimum of 60% of your PPP loan expenses must be spent on payroll to be eligible, but there's no maximum. Therefore, you could spend 100% of your PPP loan on compensation replacement, and it'd still be forgivable.

You can be charged with bank fraud, under U.S. Code Title 18 U.S.C. 1344. Bank fraud is a white collar crime, and the penalty will vary based on the situation. Typically, bank fraud punishment can include up to one year in jail, and thousands of dollars in fines.

More than 87 percent of loans have been for $150,000 or less, with an average loan size of $101,000 – demonstrating the accessibility of the PPP to even the smallest businesses.

Bank Fraud: If you lie on your PPP loan application, this is looked at as deceiving a financial institution for profit. You can be charged with bank fraud, under U.S. Code Title 18 U.S.C. 1344. Bank fraud is a white collar crime, and the penalty will vary based on the situation.

That documentation can include relevant tax forms (e.g., Form 941s), including annual tax forms (e.g., Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120S), or if relevant tax forms are not available, quarterly financial statements or bank statements.

Several common issues can arise in PPP loan fraud cases:

You may have a defense if you made an honest mistake or were unaware that you were providing false information. Insufficient evidence: The prosecution must also provide sufficient evidence to support their allegations of fraud.