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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), launched as part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to aid to small businesses coping with the impact of COVID-19, ended on May 31, 2021. However, nearly 350,000 small businesses that received a PPP loan have not had their loans forgiven. Another 380,000 loans have been only partially forgiven.
 
A recent analysis by Bloomberg News says total PPP debt amounts to $28 billion, with most loans for less than $25,000. During 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reported distributing more than $400 billion to more than six million businesses through the PPP, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and targeted and supplemental advance programs.
 
Employers receiving a PPP loan during the first funding round had until August 30, 2021, to apply for loan forgiveness. However, advocacy groups, community leaders, and business owners say the process for seeking forgiveness is burdensome for businesses. Indeed, the loan forgiveness application, SBA Form 3508S (07/21), is seven pages and requires considerable documentation regarding how PPP funds were used.
 
The SBA boasted in 2021 that it had streamlined its forgiveness application processes. In a press release, the SBA said, “a borrower of a participating lender can now complete most or all of a forgiveness application using a computer or, for the first time, their smartphone. On average, users are able to complete and submit directly to the SBA their applications in just six minutes, and most receive their forgiveness decisions within a week from the date of submission.“
 
More than six months after the forgiveness application deadline, 50+ business and advocacy groups are still pushing the SBA, Treasury Department, and Congress to forgive automatically PPP loans of $25,000 and less. They argue that many sole proprietors face challenges with income, payroll, and expense documentation. They are also seeking rescission of a rule that denied forgiveness to businesses making a good-faith effort to comply with forgives rules.
 
In other PPP-related news, the Justice Department continues to go after individuals and businesses that have misused funds related to CARES assistance. In March, charges were filed in Louisiana against an Amtrak employee who sought approximately $89,000 in PPP funds, even while working full-time.
 
Sentencing also took place last month for two Michigan residents who obtained nearly $1.5 million in PPP funds. Authorities have recovered more than $1.123 million traced to the fraudulently obtained funds through a parallel civil asset forfeiture action. California convictions include seven individuals in Los Angeles sentenced in November for PPP and EIDL fraud in excess of $20 million, as well as a separate action last year against a Temecula business owner who sought and obtained $7.25 million in federal assistance.