Thousands of PPP & EIDL Loans Went to Business Owners Older Than 115 Years Old

According to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), 3,095 SBA loans issued during the 2020-2021 covid era went to businesses where the owner was recorded as being older than 115 years old. The oldest person living in the US currently is only 114. Overall, this amounted to $333M deployed. No additional details were shared on the loans. The DOGE website mostly just embeds tweets made on X.

That shenanigans occurred during the PPP & EIDL covid era is nothing new. As of FY 2024, for example, the SBA had already written off $70B in covid EIDL loans alone. What’s new with the above information is perhaps how cross-checking may have easily prevented some of the obvious fraud.