Midwest
‘DOGE’ senator seeks to ensure feds can continue pursuing COVID fraudsters, debtors, as IG sounds alarm
FIRST ON FOX: A top “DOGE” senator said a government watchdog alerted her to an “alarming” rate of defaults on COVID-era “PPP” loans, and now she wants to hold fraudsters accountable.
In a letter to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) Brian Miller wrote that the loan programs funding reported losses of $1.27 billion as of November 2024, and had snowballed since debtors’ initial payments began coming due in July 2023.
“Without SIGPR to protect the taxpayer, there will be no one on watch which will allow this crisis to continue,” Miller wrote.
“Of equal concern is an alarming rate of defaults by borrowers who are failing to pay even the interest payments on the loans for the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) and the Direct Loan Program.”
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A page from the PPP loan application for financial support due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York. May 7, 2020. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)
The inspector general added that their office has been “shedding staff” and going through legally mandated processes for an agency in the process of shutting down.
There are at least 130 potential defendants identified to be probed, and without proper resources, they may never be so.
Ernst warned that dishonest loan applicants could get away with $200 billion in fraud from COVID-19 relief if her bill does not pass.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has drafted legislation that would provide additional resources to hold coronavirus pandemic fraudsters accountable. (Reuters/Bonnie Cash)
“Con artists took advantage of small businesses’ pain during COVID to defraud government programs designed to help hardworking Americans,” Ernst said Wednesday.
“While we are $36 trillion in debt, we especially cannot afford to leave more than $200 billion floating around, especially in the hands of fraudsters. My Republican colleagues and I are making sure that all resources are available in this fight to get taxpayers’ money back and hold these criminals accountable.”
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION FAILED TO RECOUP $200B IN FRAUDULENT COVID LOANS, HOUSE COMMITTEE SAYS
When the Small Business Administration initiated the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, they were on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Critics claimed at the time that many qualifying businesses and entities were therefore turned away, and reports proliferated that gang members and drug traffickers were instead able to access the resources.
One alleged fraudster used a photo of a Barbie doll as their identifier on an SBA loan application, while another raked in $8 million that could have gone to struggling restaurants – particularly in states with onerous shutdown policies.
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In response, Ernst has drafted the Complete COVID Collections Act, Fox News Digital has learned.
The bill would extend authorization of the SIGPR through 2030 and expand its jurisdiction to cover other SBA COVID-related programs. As of Wednesday, the SIGPR is only authorized into September.
The proposal also directs the Treasury to enforce collection of loans under $100,000 as stringently as high-dollar alleged scofflaws and late-debtors.
It also brings in the Justice Department, requiring the law enforcement agency to provide regular reports to Congress on activities related to pandemic-centric programs including prosecutions, fund recovery and referrals to the DOJ from other entities.
By Wednesday afternoon, Ernst’s bill gained co-sponsorship from four other Republicans: Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Todd Young of Indiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and John Curtis of Utah – who was just seated following the departure of Mitt Romney.
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TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota men’s basketball was unable to finish off Oral Roberts on Saturday night inside the Mabee Center as the Summit League contest, which saw ten tied scores and seven lead changes, went the way of the Golden Eagles as a late three by Issac McBride, just the fourth by the host all night, cushioned ORU’s advantage in the final seconds with the host winning 83-79.
Sophomore Mier Panoam scored inside to pull UND to within one at 78-77 and then denied a driving attempt by McBride two possessions later with 58 seconds to play, but the latter would net a cushion triple following an empty opportunity from the Hawks.
Three pointers by senior Deng Mayar and a pair from junior Dariyus Woodson aided the Hawks in taking a 53-50 lead as the second half clock neared the 15-minute mark, but the Golden Eagles dominated inside with 50 total paint points and missed just twice inside in the final eight minutes of action after tying the contest at 65.
North Dakota led by as much as nine points in the first half which saw the Hawks hit four early three-pointers kickstarted by a far wing trifecta from Amar Kuljuhovic who led UND with a dozen points in the first twenty minutes. After a handful of made three-pointers, the Hawks struggled going 1-for-8 the rest of the way in the first half. ORU controlled the paint with two dozen points which aided the Golden Eagles’ 59.3% shooting clip in 27 attempts from the floor in the first half.
The Hawks led for over 18 minutes in the opening half of action, but a scoreless stretch in the half’s final 2:11 and a 9-2 ORU run over the 3:12 sent the host into the intermission with the advantage.
North Dakota prepares for a Thursday night matchup in Brookings against South Dakota State, before playing host to Kansas City on Saturday. The Hawks and the Jackrabbits tip off at 7 p.m. on January 16 from inside First Bank & Trust Arena. The action can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. Fans can follow the action live with Fighting Hawks men’s basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
Postgame Notes
- Kuljuhovic led UND with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and two assists
- Treysen Eaglestaff followed with 15 points and Panoam added 13
- Eaglestaff led with five assists and Panoam matched Kuljuhovic in boards with six
- UND’s 15 offensive rebounds marks the 18th straight game with 12+ such boards
- UND’s 14 defensive rebounds are a season low
- The Hawks committed just eight turnovers and have committed less than ten in five of their past six games
- UND finished at +12 in points off of turnovers
- North Dakota was unable to absorb 28 points from McBride and 26 points from JoJo Moore
- ORU shot an opponent-best 60.8% from the floor
- The Eagles produced opponent season lows in three-pointers (4) and steals (3)
How It Happened
First Half
14:13 – UND 12, ORU 10 (ORU +8 paint, 0-of-4 3PT FG)
11:53 – UND 20, ORU 16 (UND 3-of-7 3PT FG)
7:24 – UND 31, ORU 24 (UND 4-of-last-5 FG, UND +4 TOs)
3:49 – UND 37, ORU 34
HALF – ORU 43, UND 42
Second Half
15:42 – UND 51, ORU 50
10:39 – UND 61, ORU 60
6:40 – UND 67, ORU 67
5:28 – UND 71, ORU 69
3:55 – ORU 75, UND 73
FINAL – ORU 83, UND 79
For more information on North Dakota men’s basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.
— UND —
Three power-play goals and the goaltending of Liam Souliere helped the No. 3 Gophers men’s hockey team rebound with a 6-1 victory over No. 11 Ohio State on Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
“It just was not a good look to us last night,” coach Bob Motzko said. “Tonight, absolutely the other way around from the first shift. All four lines, all the defensemen, Liam was great in net, and give our guys credit, we responded. I hope it’s a lesson for us, and I hope that’s a game to get us going now.”
The Gophers (18-4-2, 9-2-1 Big Ten) scored three times in the first eight minutes.
A penalty on the Buckeyes for too many players on the ice put the Gophers on the power play just 86 seconds into the game. Mike Koster quickly converted the opportunity to open the scoring with 17:18 left in the first period.
A little over five minutes later, Mason Nevers and Connor Kurth scored 15 seconds apart to give the Gophers a 3-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the first period.
Less than two minutes into the second period, the Gophers went on the power play again, and Koster again converted to make it 4-0.
Jimmy Snuggerud made it 5-0 with a power-play goal with 6:05 remaining in the second period.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Though South Dakota isn’t really a threat to take Minnesota’s moniker as the “State of Hockey”, the Rushmore State certainly has a strong scene of its own particularly in Sioux Falls right now with the Stampede on top of the USHL’s Western Conference, an emerging second year college program in Augustana, and vibrant youth programs.
The seventh “Hockey Day South Dakota” celebrated hockey in the state on Saturday and featured four games in the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
Click on the video viewer to watch highlights of one of those games featuring:
-Sioux Falls West Flyers boys defeating the Mitchell Marlins 5-1. Ashton Eining scored two goals for the Flyers with Carson Edwards, Alexander Edwards and James Shea netting the other markers for Sioux Falls. Lukas Jerke scored the game’s first and lone goal for Mitchell.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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