- The deployment has formalized a pilot targeting fraud in the PPP and COVID EIDL programs
- SBA has already suspended over 150,000 borrowers in five states tied to more than $10 billion in suspected fraud
- The Palantir work builds on a broader crackdown that includes new identity checks and a full audit of the 8(a) program
The Small Business Administration has expanded its use of Palantir Technologies software to detect and pursue fraud in pandemic-era relief programs, formalizing a pilot the agency began earlier this year. SBA announced the move Tuesday.
The deployment targets fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, and the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, program, using artificial intelligence and data analysis to surface leads, support criminal enforcement and aid the recovery of taxpayer funds. SBA said the tools will help it analyze large datasets, flag anomalies and spot indicators of coordinated schemes as it works alongside the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the Department of Justice, the SBA Office of Inspector General and other law enforcement partners.
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SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, a 2026 Wash100 Award recipient, said fraud accounted for as much as 20 percent of the more than $1.2 trillion in pandemic aid. The SBA inspector general has estimated that at least $200 billion of PPP and COVID EIDL lending was fraudulent.
What Has SBA’s Pandemic Fraud Crackdown Produced So Far?
The agency has suspended more than 150,000 borrowers in five states linked to over $10 billion in suspected fraud, led by roughly 112,000 California borrowers tied to $8.6 billion. Additional suspensions cover borrowers in Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Maine. Suspended borrowers lose access to future SBA loans and programs, including 8(a) Business Development Program contracting.
In April, the agency referred more than 560,000 suspected fraudulent borrowers tied to $22 billion in delinquent loans to the Treasury Department for collection.
How Does the Palantir Work Fit SBA’s Broader Enforcement Push?
The software deployment builds on a Fraud Prevention Pilot Program that first paired SBA with Palantir tools, initially in connection with Minnesota fraud cases, FedScoop previously reported. It joins a wider oversight campaign under Loeffler that includes new identity verification checks on loan programs, a full-scale audit of the 8(a) program and termination proceedings against hundreds of 8(a) firms that declined to submit financial records.
