

The SBA announced on Sunday that its Covid-19 EIDL program had paid out more than $ 310 billion to small businesses and was “critical” to the pandemic recovery. Officials noted that EIDL funds could be used for payroll, sick leave and other business expenses such as rent. Prosecutors accused Oudomsine of abusing the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for small businesses injured during the coronavirus pandemic that turned the economy upside down with closings and stay-at-home orders. Defenders of the SBA’s Covid-19 programs have also argued that labeled loans and grants represent a small fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid.Īn Oudomsine attorney declined to comment on the case on Sunday, and the defendant has yet to appeal, according to court records. In a statement, the agency said it had worked with Congress and the Inspector General under the Biden administration to add anti-fraud measures while speeding up its processes. The SBA on Sunday blamed President Donald Trump’s administration, citing the Oudomsine case “yet another example of the fraud resulting from its lax controls.” The result, according to the General Inspector of the SBA, was “with limited certainty that loans would only go to authorized recipients”. That year, the SBA’s inspector general concluded that the federal agency was spending billions in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) “at the expense of controls” that could have blocked inappropriate aid. The wire fraud charges brought against Oudomsine last week are part of a federal crackdown on alleged abuse of massive aid programs that have lifelong businesses as well as concerns of fraud and waste during the pandemic.Ī federal guard said this month that the Small Business Administration (SBA) overpayed $ 4.5 billion in self-employed grants and that “there was no control system in place to flag applications with incorrect or illogical information” – even allegations of up to 1 million employees. Prosecutors say the card cost the Georgia man $ 57,789 – more than two-thirds of his federal aid, which officials say was based on inaccurate information.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the Washington Post’s most important and interesting stories.īut Vinath Oudomsine may be the only person accused of using his small business loan on a single Pokémon card. Another pleaded guilty to using his money on a $ 318,000 Lamborghini. Justice Department press releases document a litany of luxury goods allegedly bought with pandemic aid to keep troubled businesses afloat.Ī man was charged with spending his loan money on strip clubs.
