I don’t know about you, but the pandemic brought some harsh consequences to my family — or at least, the draconian response from the federal government did, made worse for us by the two-year lockdowns in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California that turned the state into the Golden Gulag.
Not everybody suffered, though, and many fraudsters made out like bandits as they stole our money while we were stuck at home. Officials estimate a staggering $200 billion in suspected fraud from COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs alone. Vance said the fraud epidemic was an “open secret” to the Biden administration.
On Monday, however, a whole bunch of suspected scammers — around 870,000 who allegedly pocketed $39 billion — just got some bad news from Vice President JD Vance. They’re being suspended from ever receiving federal loans again:
.@VP: "Did the Biden Administration know this stuff was going on? Of course they did! It was an open secret." https://t.co/4K3nmuCYzl pic.twitter.com/kefYONPl28
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026
Vance made the announcement at a press briefing in Kansas City alongside Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. The suspended borrowers, now banned from future small-business and disaster loans, hail from 45 states, six territories and the District of Columbia.
But what about more severe consequences for these alleged cretins, you might ask. Blanche brought some of those, too:
.@AGToddBlanche says more than 80 individuals have been charged so far in relation to over $245 million in pandemic-era loan fraud. pic.twitter.com/jCih6pwcjW
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026
Blanche talked about Heartland Fraud Surge, the DOJ’s operation that ran from June 12 through Sept. 1 and uncovered hundreds of millions in graft. Over 44 U.S. attorneys' offices and more than 20 federal and state investigative partners were involved:
The paycheck protection program, program which the vice president just talked about, was run by the SBA. It was created to save jobs and keep good American businesses alive during COVID. But some fraudsters treated it like a personal piggy bank. The DOJ, the FBI, the small business administration, and their great Office of Inspector General, saw this happening, and now we're looking to, every day, fix it.
We're talking about today just less than two months, between June 12th and August 31st, with the help of 40 U.S. attorneys offices, and 20 federal and state investigative agencies, we uncovered, uncovered approximately 245 million dollars in losses.
There's a lot of people that have been implicated or charged, but so far, we've charged over 80 individuals tied to this theft of 245 million dollars.
Loeffler was next at the podium, and the numbers she laid out were mind-boggling:
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the suspensions announced by the vice president are tied to an estimated $39 billion in suspected fraud from across 45 states and territories. Combined with earlier enforcement actions, Loeffler said the SBA has now suspended borrowers connected to roughly $49 billion in alleged fraud across all 50 states.
The COVID era is thankfully over, and most of us have moved on with our lives. If you participated in pandemic fraud, however, the consequences may persist for years.
A useless mask won’t protect you.
Editor's Note: Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci and Co.’s response to COVID was one of the biggest unconstitutional power grabs of all time.
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