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WEKU
WEKU
Martin Kaste

The perilous hunt for PPP fraud and the hot tip that wasn't

PPP Chicago Martin Kaste Michael Williams Pandemic OIG
Matthew House, a day shelter for the homeless on Chicago's south side. This address was listed on 50 separate applications for emergency PPP small business loans. (Martin Kaste/NPR)

An anonymous tipster reached out to NPR a few months ago with an intriguing allegation: A high-ranking elected official in Chicago took out a suspicious pandemic loan back in 2021.

To start this story at the end: The tip didn't pan out. We never found any reason to believe the official received one of the forgivable loans in the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, meant to keep businesses afloat and preserve jobs during the pandemic.

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