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Fraud Checks and Errors Slow Small-Business Relief Loans
The renewed Paycheck Protection Program has disbursed $140 billion this year, but many applicants have had to wait weeks for lenders to resolve problems.
Shelly Ross found herself in a bureaucratic nightmare after requesting a second loan via PayPal for Tales of the Kitty, her San Francisco cat-sitting business.Credit.Anastasiia Sapon for The New York Times
Feb. 22, 2021
The problems plaguing those seeking loans from the government’s revived small-business relief program have ranged from simple to shocking.
Some applications were stalled for weeks by typos. Overzealous fraud filters trapped others. A change of taxpayer identification rules snarled many freelancers and sole proprietors. And then there were the thousands of people turned down because they erroneously registered as having a recent criminal conviction.
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The problems plaguing those seeking loans from the government’s revived small-business relief program have ranged from simple to shocking.
Some applications were stalled for weeks by typos. Overzealous fraud filters trapped others. A change of taxpayer identification rules snarled many freelancers and sole proprietors. And then there were the thousands of people turned down because they erroneously registered as having a recent criminal conviction.
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Martha Theirl, who spent hours battling three levels of customer service support at her bank in her attempt to get a loan for her physical therapy business.
Six weeks into the second run of the Paycheck Protection Program, $134 billion in emergency aid has been distributed by banks, which make the government-backed loans, to 1.8 million small businesses. But a thicket of errors and technology glitches has slowed the relief effort and vexed borrowers and lenders alike.
Shreveport, LA LSU Shreveport’s Debate Team is continuing its noteworthy streak of victories after its most recent competition, the Southern Forensics Championship. The Pilots won eight Louisiana State Championships against twenty-nine collegiate programs representing nine states. The late January contest was hosted virtually by the University of Central Arkansas.
The team’s winnings included top individual state prizes in the overall debate sweepstakes and in the overall Louisiana Tournament Championship. These triumphs were in addition to a second-place team victory in the overall debate and tournament championship.
In the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) portions of the competition, the team went home successful in both individual and team categories. Team IPDA freshman partners Jewel Thomas and Mathew Coleman finished the tournament as quarter finalists. Coleman was also the fourth-place speaker in the team division. In the novice division, freshman Mallory Ta
Updated on January 26, 2021 at 7:42 pm
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When Judith Less applied for a loan under the federal Paycheck Protection Program, she was hoping the cash might help out with overhead at her Pompton Plains consignment shop.
“I was hoping to get enough money to pay my rent,” said Less.
But when she got the federal assistance, it was barely enough to pay for lunch. The grand total in PPP aid? Just $27.
“Twenty-seven dollars was all mine,” she chuckled. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about paying that much back.”
Less isn’t the only small business owner who applied for a financial lifeline, only to get a splash of cold water. The I-Team examined records from the U.S. Small Business Administration and found more than 300 New York and New Jersey small businesses that got PPP loans worth less than $500. They include a Long Island home improvement company that received $59, a Red Bank college consultant who hauled in $13, and a Toms River real estate comp