Reports
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Small Business Administration OIG
SBA’s Administrative Process to Address Potentially Fraudulent Restaurant Revitalization Fund Awards
We inspected the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) administrative process used to review potentially fraudulent Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) applications and recover funds. Program officials designed the RRF application validation and approval processes using the Government Accountability Office’s A Framework for Managing Fraud Risks in Federal Programs. However, 3,790 applications submitted through a point-of-sale partner were processed without verifying gross sales, a key control designed to prevent ineligible entities from receiving awards. As a result, SBA’s RRF...
Small Business Administration OIG
COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to provide a comprehensive estimate of the potential fraud in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) pandemic assistance loan programs. Over the course of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, SBA disbursed approximately $1.2 trillion of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. In the rush to swiftly disburse COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds, SBA calibrated its internal controls. The agency weakened or removed the controls...
Small Business Administration OIG
Serious Concerns Regarding the Return of Paycheck Protection Program Funds
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to bring to your attention concerns regarding the return of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. This issue requires immediate attention and action by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to ensure it has processes and procedures in place to adequately accept, process, and account for PPP funds returned by borrowers, lenders, and financial institutions. Expedited management action should mitigate the risk of financial loss to taxpayers. Establishing clear and detailed guidance for borrowers, lenders, and...
Small Business Administration OIG
White Paper: 7(a) Loan Program During SBA’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
We prepared this white paper to report on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program performance during SBA’s response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and address potential risks SBA should consider in managing the program. We identified factors that could impact the 7(a) loan program and should be considered in SBA’s program risk strategy. Specifically, in FY 2021, the total amount of loans increased to $31.4 billion from $19.4 billion in FY 2020 (62 percent increase) and $20.6 billion in FY 2019 (53 percent increase), as did the average loan amount...
Department of Homeland Security OIG
FEMA Did Not Provide Sufficient Oversight of Project Airbridge
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not provide sufficient oversight of Project Airbridge, a COVID-19 initiative. Under unprecedented pressure to mitigate disruptions in global medical supply chains, FEMA established Project Airbridge.
Department of Homeland Security OIG
FEMA Did Not Provide Sufficient Oversight of Project Airbridge
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not provide sufficient oversight of Project Airbridge, a COVID-19 initiative. Under unprecedented pressure to mitigate disruptions in global medical supply chains, FEMA established Project Airbridge.
Department of Homeland Security OIG
FEMA’s Management of Mission Assignments to Other Federal Agencies Needs Improvement
Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) processed and obligated funds timely to other Federal agencies (OFA), it did not provide sufficient oversight to ensure OFAs used pandemic funding as required. Specifically, FEMA did not develop detailed cost estimates when initially establishing MAs, validate unliquidated and open obligations throughout the MA lifecycle, and verify cost eligibility against Public Assistance guidance before closing the MA.
Small Business Administration OIG
SBA's Guaranty Purchases for Paycheck Protection Program Loans
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to express concerns regarding the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) decision to end collections on purchased Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans with an outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. In anticipation of a significant number of delinquent PPP loans that lenders will submit for guaranty purchase, we began reviewing SBA’s process for approving PPP guaranty purchases. During our review, we identified concerns with SBA’s decision to end collections on these loans and found that expedited management...
Department of Homeland Security OIG
FEMA Made Efforts to Address Inequities in Disadvantaged Communities Related to COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center Locations and Also Plans to Address Inequity in Future Operations
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other Federal and state partners, used the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) in an effort to identify and address inequities in minority and disadvantaged communities related to the locations of COVID-19 Community Vaccination Centers. Specifically, FEMA’s Civil Rights Advisory Group (CRAG) implemented a methodology that prioritized states based on the CDC SVI. This methodology sought to address differences in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) care and outcomes...
Small Business Administration OIG
Follow-up Inspection of SBA’s Internal Controls to Prevent COVID-19 EIDLs to Ineligible Applicants
This report presents the results of our follow-up inspection to assess the effectiveness of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) enhanced internal controls to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to ineligible applicants. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act prohibited the agency from requiring tax return transcripts to prove eligibility. Congress eliminated this restriction 9 months later with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. We found SBA did not implement the tax transcript requirement in a timely...