SBA freezes over 100,000 California borrowers in sweeping $9B pandemic fraud crackdown

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Friday it had suspended more than 100,000 California borrowers amid suspected fraud, with the alleged abuse totaling nearly $9 billion.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agency suspended 111,620 California borrowers linked to suspected fraudulent activity across SBA pandemic-era loan programs. Those borrowers received 118,489 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans totaling more than $8.6 billion.