American Thought Leaders Exclusive: Inside SBA’s Crack Down on Loan Fraud Nationwide | Administrator Kelly Loeffler
Jan 9, 2026
In this engaging discussion, Kelly Loeffler, former U.S. senator and current Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shares her mission to tackle loan fraud, revealing her team's discovery of 8,000 fraudulent loans during investigations in Minnesota. She emphasizes the importance of supporting domestic manufacturing and discusses initiatives to combat debanking. Loeffler also reflects on her journey from a family farm to a successful financial career, advocating for American values of self-reliance and opportunity for small businesses.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Holiday Fraud Sweep In Minnesota
- Kelly Loeffler described reviewing 20,000 PPP/EIDL files over the holidays and identifying widespread fraud in Minnesota.
- She said about 8,000 loans were flagged and roughly 7,000 borrowers were suspended and barred from SBA services.
Scale Of Pandemic Aid And Abuse
- Loeffler said $1.2 trillion flowed through SBA COVID programs and most recipients were legitimate small businesses that needed help to survive.
- She argued a subset exploited the crisis and previous administrations forgave flagged fraud instead of investigating it.
Apply The Minnesota Blueprint Nationwide
- Use the Minnesota investigation as a blueprint to audit other states for systemic fraud across federal programs.
- Turn closed fraud-marked files over to federal law enforcement and bar fraudulent actors from federal support.