Vice President JD Vance announced Monday that approximately 870,000 people suspected of defrauding federal pandemic-relief programs will be barred from receiving future Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.
“If you screwed the American taxpayer, the federal government is now going to say you’re cut off, no more,” Vance said in Kansas City, Missouri. “You shouldn’t be applying anymore, and if you do apply, you’re no longer able to get those benefits.”
I am proud to announce alongside many of our task force members that we are going to suspend 870,000 people who defrauded the government from ever being able to apply for these loans again.
It’s simple, if you screwed the American taxpayer, the federal government is going to cut… https://t.co/6vQvORI6Ke
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 14, 2026
The borrowers received money through the Paycheck Protection Program or the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The two programs distributed hundreds of billions of dollars after the pandemic forced businesses to close or reduce operations.
Vance said the money was meant to keep small companies operating and their employees working, but that many recipients stole funds intended for those businesses and workers.
“Well, we think it makes sense that if you were caught stealing from the American taxpayer, you shouldn’t be able to benefit from these loans anymore,” Vance said.
The 870,000 people have not all been convicted of — or even charged with — crimes. The SBA says the accused borrowers are connected to approximately $39 billion in suspected fraud.
Vance said borrowers who believe they were wrongly classified can seek a review, though he predicted that few challenges would succeed.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler described the loan restrictions as one part of a larger effort to recover pandemic money.
“Exposing these criminals is only the first step,” Loeffler said. “This summer, we referred $22 billion to the United States Treasury for collections.”
[NOTE: A Treasury collection referral is an attempt to recover money the government says it is owed. It is not a criminal prosecution or conviction.]
The announcement accompanied the results of a Justice Department operation called the “Heartland fraud surge,” which between June 12 and September 1 saw prosecutors and investigators bring or complete cases involving more than 160 defendants and approximately $245 million in alleged losses.
The SBA’s list is much larger because the suspensions are administrative actions based on suspected fraud, not criminal convictions.
The Justice Department also remains active in pursuit of pandemic relief fund fraudsters, seeking penalties beyond the denial of future loans. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department has assigned prosecutors throughout the country specifically to continue working through the cases.
“We have 500 prosecutors now in D.C. and around the country focused on this,” Blanche told CBS News. “We have prosecutors in all 93 U.S. attorneys’ offices now directly focused on this.”
Blanche’s claim also drew criticism from X users who pointed to what they characterized as the Trump administration’s inconsistency when it comes to clemency and the treatment of fraudsters.
When Blanche, who like Vance also spoke in Kansas City, said that “there has never been a President in American history more serious about stopping fraud and protecting the American taxpayer than Donald Trump,” several X accounts responded with lists of people convicted of fraud or other serious crimes who were pardoned by Trump, including Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht, who was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole.
In a long X post, HQNewsNow featured a list of people who have received pardons from the president after committing fraud, including former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, reality TV couple Todd and Julie Chrisley, and former sheriff Scott Howard Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Trump has pardoned the following people charged with fraud:
—George Santos, wire fraud
—Ross William Ulbricht, fraud with identification documents
—Rod R. Blagojevich, 8 counts of wire fraud under color of official right
—Brian Kelsey, conspiracy to defraud the United States… https://t.co/dU2nl6LqqM— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) September 14, 2026
[NOTE: The original Paycheck Protection Program, established in 2020 during Donald Trump’s first administration, approved almost 12 million loans worth nearly $800 billion. The SBA inspector general estimated in 2023 that more than $200 billion distributed through the PPP and the separate disaster-loan program showed possible signs of fraud.]