Tag: sba

SBA, USDA To Combat ‘Regulatory Abuse’ Lawfare Aimed At Farmers And Ranchers

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a memorandum to counter lawfare targeting rural communities, ranchers, farmers, and small businesses.

Lawfare refers to the strategic use of legal proceedings to hinder targets. The SBA’s agreement with the USDA gives producers a “direct line to report the regulations and rules driving up costs and impacting productivity,” the agency said in a July 2 statement.

It also enables the SBA and the USDA to “identify broader patterns of regulatory abuse to advance lasting deregulatory reform.”

The USDA will run a centralized portal that will receive lawfare complaints involving federal agencies, which will be shared with the SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman. Any complaint involving the USDA will be handled by the department, while other complaints will be referred by the SBA to the appropriate agencies.

Under the agreement, the SBA is authorized to analyze complaint data to identify recurring lawfare practices, enforcement, or regulatory issues that are assessed as abusive or disproportionate. This is expected to provide insight that would guide deregulatory action for broader reforms.

In a July 2 X post, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agreement between the USDA and the SBA lets “producers get back to what they do best: feeding, clothing, and fueling America.”

“Family farms should not have to spend time and resources they don’t have fighting crushing regulations or costly legal battles waged by radical anti-ag ‘environmentalists,’ whether they are inside or outside the government,” she said.

In its statement, the SBA said the memorandum is in line with a January 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.”

Trump said in the order that the “ever-expanding morass” of complicated federal regulations was creating “substantial restraint” on economic growth and hampering the country’s global competitiveness.

For each new regulation issued by any agency, Trump ordered that at least 10 previous regulations be identified for elimination.

Commenting on the memorandum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said: “This partnership with the SBA creates clear pathways for redress, ensures fairness in enforcement, and demonstrates that Washington stands with, not against, the hardworking Americans who sustain our country.

“Through the USDA Lawfare Portal and interagency collaboration, we are delivering real protection under the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework.”

The Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework is a plan aimed at protecting and preserving American agriculture while ending “onerous regulations” and the weaponization of government against ranchers and farmers, according to a Feb. 11 statement from the USDA.

The plan seeks to defend farmers and ranchers from politically motivated enforcement actions, protect agricultural lands from unnecessary federal projects, and remove burdensome rules that stifle productivity.

It also seeks to reform environmental laws to strike a balance between conservation and common sense.

Keep reading

‘Staggering’: Trump SBA Suspends 111,620 California Borrowers-Finds Nearly $9 Billion in Suspected Small Business Fraud

The Trump administration’s Small Business Administration announced Friday that the agency has suspended 111,620 California borrowers connected to $8.6 BILLION in suspected pandemic fraud.

In a press release, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler noted, “Once again, the Trump SBA is taking decisive action to deliver accountability in a state whose unaccountable welfare policies have created a culture of fraud and abuse at the expense of law-abiding taxpayers and small business owners.”

“Today, we announced we have suspended nearly 112,000 borrowers tied to at least $9 billion in suspected fraud. This staggering number represents the most significant crack-down on those who defrauded pandemic programs, and it illuminates the scale of corruption that the Biden Administration tolerated for years.

“As we did in Minnesota, we are actively working with federal law enforcement to identify the criminals who defrauded American taxpayers, hold them to account, and recoup the stolen funds. As we continue our state-by-state work, our message is clear: pandemic-era fraudsters will not get a pass under this Administration.”

Loeffler took to X to add,  “California, just like Minnesota, invites criminals to abuse the system with socialist welfare policies. Fraud scaled up massively during the pandemic – and the Biden Admin failed to stop it.”

“In San Diego, I visited a single address tied to 14 different ‘small businesses’ that were formed during the pandemic, who received $2M+ in COVID-era loans that still haven’t been fully repaid.”

“The era of abuse is over.”

Keep reading

Trump SBA SUSPENDS Nearly 7,000 Minnesota Borrowers Amid Suspected PPP and EIDL Fraud

The Trump administration’s Small Business Administration announced Thursday that it has suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers after uncovering a widespread suspected fraud tied to COVID-19 relief programs.

According to the agency, an internal review of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) approvals in Minnesota revealed nearly $400 million in potentially fraudulent loans—money that was supposed to keep small businesses afloat and American workers employed during the pandemic.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agency reviewed thousands of pandemic-era loans approved in Minnesota and identified 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans connected to the suspended borrowers.

In a blunt statement posted to X, Loeffler laid out the scope of the action:

“Over the last week, SBA has reviewed thousands of potentially fraudulent pandemic-era PPP and EIDL loans approved in Minnesota.

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.”

Keep reading

SBA HALTS $5.5 MILLION in Funding to Minnesota After Explosive Findings Tie Somali Fraud Ring to Millions in PPP Loans

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has halted more than $5.5 million in annual federal funding to Minnesota after explosive findings revealed that individuals tied to the infamous $1 billion Somali fraud scheme also received millions in taxpayer-backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced the funding freeze Tuesday in a scathing post on X, directly notifying Democrat Governor Tim Walz that his state can no longer be trusted with federal tax dollars.

Loeffler wrote on X:

Today, I informed Governor Tim Walz that SBA is halting $5.5 million in annual funding to Minnesota pending further review.

This action follows alarming findings: individuals indicted in the $1 billion Somali fraud scheme also received at least $3 million in PPP loans, and SBA has since identified 13,600 additional PPP loans in Minnesota – totaling $430 million – suspected as fraudulent.

With dozens of investigations underway, the conclusion is unavoidable: Minnesota cannot be trusted to administer federal tax dollars. Its socialist welfare system has enabled fraud at industrial scale, at the expense of honest Americans – and these are the consequences.

Keep reading

Small Business Administration Uncovers $1M Somali Community Fraud in Minnesota

The Small Business Administration has discovered that the fraud among the Somali community in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota is still growing with its finding of one million dollars in PPP loan fraud.

Trump-appointed Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler took to her X account to report finding the massive fraud of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that was launched to save businesses struggling to survive the oppressive government policies meant to address the COVID crisis in 2020.

“Numerous individuals and nonprofits indicted in the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal, including Feeding Our Future, received SBA PPP loans in addition to other state and federal funding,” Loeffler wrote. “I have ordered an investigation into the network of Somali organizations and executives implicated in these schemes.”

“Despite Governor Walz’s best efforts to obstruct, SBA continues to work to expose abuse and hold perpetrators accountable, full stop,” she said.

Keep reading

“Widespread Misconduct”: Trump Admin Orders All Beneficiaries Of Nation’s Largest DEI Program To Surrender Financial Records

The Daily Wire has learned that the Small Business Administration has ordered all 4,300 firms in its 8(a) “socially disadvantaged” program, which receive no-bid federal contracts, to turn over their financial records, including general ledgers, bank statements, payroll files, subcontracting agreements, and other internal documents, by January 5 or face removal from the program.

SBA’s crackdown on one of Washington’s oldest DEI initiatives follows mounting evidence that some 8(a) firms have become a major pipeline for fraud, pass-through schemes, and artificially inflated contract costs.

Late last month, Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the investigative journalist who broke the Clinton Cash corruption story, published a report exposing the cronyism and corruption inside the 8(a) program, where pass-through firms handed bidless contracts on silver platters while quietly outsourcing the real work to major consulting companies.

“For years, DC insiders have exploited a federal DEI contracting program that provides windfalls to Beltway elites. This open secret isn’t about helping the downtrodden; it’s about bagging no-bid paydays. The SBA’s 8(a) program is long overdue for reform,” Schweizer wrote on X.

Keep reading