More Than $1 Billion in Suspicious Coronavirus Relief Grants: Report – By Michael Rainey (The Fiscal Times) / Aug 26 2020
In some parts of the country, the federal government has provided coronavirus relief grants to more businesses than are eligible to receive them, at a cost of at least $1.3 billion.
An analysis by Bloomberg Businessweek found 52 congressional districts in which the number of recipients of emergency grants made by the Small Business Administration exceeded the number of eligible small businesses.
The grants, made through the now-depleted $20 billion Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, were intended to help small businesses keep their doors open during the coronavirus crisis. Firms could receive $1,000 per employee, up to $10,000. But the analysis found that in some cases far more small businesses receiving the maximum grant of $10,000 than there were firms with 10 or more employees in the area.
“The epicenter was six adjacent congressional districts in the Chicago area, where 81,000 grants were approved even though there are only 19,000 eligible recipients,” Bloomberg Businessweek said. “That’s more than $600 million going to phantom entrepreneurs.”
Continue to article: https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2020/08/26/More-1-Billion-Suspicious-Coronavirus-Relief-Grants
