GAO: COVID-19 Loans Lack Controls and Are Susceptible to Fraud

On October 1st, William B. Shear, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment at the GAO gave a testimony before the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations, Committee on Small Business in the U.S. House of Representatives. In his testimony, he detailed GAO's findings from an investigation of fraud risks in the Small Business Administration (SBA)'s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The GAO found that the speed with which SBA implemented the programs may have increased their susceptibility to fraud. GAO recommended that SBA develop and implement plans to identify and respond to risks in PPP to ensure program integrity, achieve program effectiveness, and address potential fraud.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.