The Giant PPP Data Dump
Following months of pressure and an eventual judge order, the full extent of who received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from Trump’s Small Business Administration (SBA) is finally available to the public. From Project Veritas and Larry Kudlow’s wife to Tom Brady and Jake Paul, the list of the wealthy and well-connected whom received taxpayer-funded relief grows longer and longer. Meanwhile, as more than 400,000 small businesses have closed for good since the start of the pandemic, reports have revealed that more than half of the PPP loans distributed through the program’s expiration in August went to larger businesses. In addition to the millions of dollars meant for actual struggling small businesses that flowed into the wrong hands, the PPP data shows serious flaws — including typos, missing email addresses, and more.
In an effort to provide greater transparency into this latest tranche of data, Accountable.US compiled the information into a searchable database at COVIDBailoutTracker.com. We will be analyzing the new data and releasing its findings on a rolling basis at the PPP Live Blog.
WHO GOT A PPP LOAN? NOT ENOUGH ACTUAL SMALL BUSINESSES
Accountable.US | Government Watchdog Releases Searchable Database of New PPP Loan Data
NBC News | Release of PPP loan recipients’ data reveals troubling patterns
New York Times | 1 Percent of P.P.P. Borrowers Got Over One-Quarter of the Loan Money
Washington Blade | Anti-LGBTQ school where Karen Pence teaches obtained $725K in PPP money
VICE | Who Got a PPP Loan? Dov Charney, Jeff Koons, and Flywheel, for Starters
Insider | Jake Paul’s company took a PPP bailout loan for over $30,000 before the YouTuber’s summer pandemic partying
Complex | Donald Trump and Jared Kushner’s Properties Reportedly Pocketed $3.6 Million in PPP Loans
@SawyerHackett | “Tom Brady’s company took almost $1M in PPP loans, while 52% of small businesses that applied didn’t get any. Tom Brady is worth $200,000,000.” [View Tweet]
@Accountable_US | On top of @larry_kudlow’s $183,000 government salary, his family received a $4,400 taxpayer-funded grant. (3/) [View Twitter Thread]
The Daily Beast | Idaho’s Anti-Handout Lt. Governor Got $300K From COVID Program
News 4 Jax | I-TEAM: Big businesses benefit more from PPP loans than small ‘mom and pops’
Boston Business Journal | This ZIP code obtained nearly $300M in PPP approvals
Michigan Advance | Andiamo owner leading charge to defy COVID-19 order netted at least $1.8M in PPP funds
PPP DATA SHOWS ALARMING PROGRAMMATIC FLAWS
NBC 10 Philadelphia | Nearly 7,000 Local Businesses Got $4 Billion in Pandemic Loans Without Reporting Any Jobs Saved
ABC 5 Cleveland | Blanks, mistakes and typos: Data for U.S. coronavirus aid program reveals serious flaws
Memphis Business Journal | 10 oddities found in disclosure of Memphis-area PPP recipients
@Accountable_US | “For a program meant to *save jobs* the Paycheck Protection Program #PPP didn’t do very well:
Over 551,000 recipients saved 0 jobs
Over 1.2 million recipients saved just 1 job
Over 296,000 didn’t even provide the data (1/2)” [View Twitter Thread]
PPP FRAUD ROUNDUP
Atlanta Business Chronicle | Feds ask court to OK seizure of $700,000 in PPP funds from Atlanta reality TV star Maurice Fayne
Chicago Tribune | Small businesses often hit by PPP loan scams; program has few built-in safeguards
Yahoo News | More than half of the money from the Paycheck Protection Program went to just 5% of recipients
“In September, House Democrats sent out a memo saying the PPP was susceptible to ‘fraud, waste, or abuse’ because normal oversight was removed in order to get loans out sooner. That same month, banks released a report showing an increase of suspected business-loan fraud during both June and July, when PPP loans were being issued.”
The News | Fraud occurs in US loans for small businesses
Automotive News | Pa. dealership group accused of PPP fraud
KFM 640 | Northridge Man to Plead Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud