Who Committed PPP Fraud?

Nicholas AnthonyThe Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been plagued with issues since its inception. So whena  new report was released from Congress last week on the fraudulent activity surrounding the PPP, it was not a  surprise to see that it covered 130 pages. Yet what was a surprise, was the title that the Congressional Committee used for the report:“We Are Not the Fraud Police”: How Fintechs Facilitated Fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program.The report ’s title suggests that the fintech industry facilitated fraud in the PPP, but the report itself tells a very different story. Of the twelve fintech companies mentioned in the report, only four fintech companies are described as sources of fraud and discussed at length: Womply, Blueacorn, Kabbage, and Bluevine (Figure 1). And yet, thereport ’s chief recommendation on page seven is for Congress and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to consider carefully whether to work with fintech firms at all. Considering an estimated2,700 fintech firms have been founded in the United States over the last decade, it seems to be a  bold leap to say the performance of these four firms should decide the fate of so many others.This phrasing is most concerning because it is likely that this recommendation will extend far beyond the PPP or other government benefit programs. Policymakers and the general public will likely see —with the help of banking lobbyists, no doubt —“fintechs facilitated fraud” and look no fu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs