Over $200 billion in pandemic business loans appear to be fraudulent, a watchdog says

A woman walks past a personal finance loan office in October 2020 in Franklin, Tenn. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

Of the $1.2 trillion in federal aid disbursed on an emergency basis to small businesses during the pandemic, at least $200 billion — or 17% — may have gone to scammers.

That's the latest, most complete assessment of potential fraud by the Office of Inspector General of the Small Business Administration, which oversaw the disbursement of the aid.