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A congressional report has found that obscure financial technology companies “with little to no oversight from lenders” have fueled rampant Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud. The report estimates a total fraud of about $64 billion, with fintechs contributing significantly to that total.
Little-known financial tech companies, also known as “fintechs,” have taken ” billions in fees from taxpayers while becoming easy targets for those who sought to defraud the PPP,” an investigation by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis found.
The Select Subcommittee began its probe following reports that “fintechs participating in the PPP approved a high volume of fraudulent PPP loan applications.”
The PPP, which passed Congress in the spring of 2020, offered unprecedented support for small business owners to help them maintain operations and keep their employees throughout the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
No more than three years after the PPP went into effect, however, it is clear that small business owners were not the only ones to benefit from this program.
“At least tens of billions of dollars in PPP funds were likely disbursed to ineligible or fraudulent applicants, often with the involvement of fintechs, causing tremendous harm to taxpayers,” the congressional report states. --->READ MORE HERE
As big-name retailers like Walmart and Home Depot warn of rising retail thefts this holiday season, two experts are predicting the surge “only escalates from here” into an “epidemic.”
“Today, this thing is an epidemic. It’s spreading faster than COVID,” former chairman and CEO of Chrysler and Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday. “The degree of severity now, it’s not just theft, it’s smash and grab. There’s an entitlement out there that if you have it, you’ve worked hard to earn it. ‘I want it. I’m just going to take it.'”
“It’s not so much the numbers, although the numbers are alarming, it’s the manner in which this is going on and the implications for each community and each store that this happens in,” business analyst and 7 Stage Advisors president Carl Gould had noted on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” Wednesday.
“That’s where the major problem is, because this type of crime emboldens other types of crime, and it only escalates from here.”
During an appearance on CNBC Tuesday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said theft is “higher than what it has historically been.” He explained Walmart has safety and security measures “that we’ve put in place by store location” to help combat the issue.
“I think local law enforcement being staffed, and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it,” McMillon added. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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