Minnesota sure seems like a hotbed of people ripping off the American taxpayers lately. However, other places, such as other states, are also implicated.
Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler took to her official X account on Thursday to let America know that this isn't going unnoticed.
Over the last week, SBA has reviewed thousands of potentially fraudulent pandemic-era PPP and EIDL loans approved in Minnesota.
— Kelly Loeffler (@SBA_Kelly) January 2, 2026
Today, our agency took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity. In total, these borrowers were approved for…
The post continues:
Today, our agency took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity. In total, these borrowers were approved for 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans worth approximately $400M.
These individuals will be banned from all SBA loan programs, including disaster loans, going forward. We will also refer every case, where appropriate, to federal law enforcement for prosecution and repayment.
After years, the American people will finally begin to see the criminals who stole from law-abiding taxpayers held accountable - and this is just the first state.
Note those last words: "...and this is just the first state." We can hope.
Read More: Nick Shirley Reveals Concerning Threats Against Him After His Viral MN Daycare Video
Tim Walz Throws Tantrum After Daycare Funding Spigot Is Shut Off, Gets Epic Ratio in Return
An article on The Hill, also on Thursday, has more detail:
Loeffler said Monday that the SBA will pause annual grants to Minnesota amid the ongoing probe into the COVID-19 programs.
“SBA is pausing annual funding to Minnesota while we investigate $430 million in suspected PPP fraud across the state,” she wrote on X.
Last week, Loeffler sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) saying the SBA would pause $5.5 million in annual funding “pending further review.”
Prosecutors have charged nearly 100 people linked to an investigation into the fraud within Minnesota’s social programs, and Walz has directed a third-party audit of Medicaid billing within Minnesota’s Department of Human Services.
This is almost certainly the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Look, this kind of corruption isn't a new thing. It goes back at least as far as Rome, when, during the late republic, senators routinely accepted bribes from merchants and candidates for every public office, literally buying votes. Indeed, rampant corruption was at least part of the reason for the eventual fall of the Roman Republic, as it has been for other major and minor societies since. Corruption like this alienates voters; it results in the citizenry losing faith in the government, losing faith most particularly in these very kinds of government programs intended to bring relief and succor to people who are genuinely in need - or, at least, that's what politicians claim they are to do.
What's more, corruption like this leads to a certain cynicism among some, resulting in the attitude, "everyone is doing it - why not me?" This is how corruption becomes a cancer in the body politic, resulting, in time, in an irretrievably corrupt, no-trust society, and those kinds of systems never last.
From the Gracchi brothers buying votes to Tim Walz turning a blind eye to rampant fraud in Somali-run daycare centers, this is endemic. But it doesn't have to be. It shouldn't be. Now, we would seem to have more and more attention from the Trump administration on these scandals, and more and more attention by independent shoe-leather investigators blowing these things wide open.
Now the Small Business Administration has taken the first step in what we can hope ends with indictments. It's not too late to turn this thing around.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member