Administration Turning Attention to Banks in PPP Fraud Probe

Financial institutions will face greater scrutiny as the Biden administration shifts the focus of its Paycheck Protection Program fraud probe toward lenders.

"The government is absolutely going to be and already is looking at lenders," said Chris Cooke, a defense and investigations attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright. "Banks should expect to hear from the enforcement community. If you're a bank you need to get your arms wrapped around what your [Paycheck Protection Program] profile looks like."

The U.S. Department of Justice is leading the anti-fraud effort, announcing a new chief prosecutor, Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers, to pull together the administration's efforts across a range of initiatives including the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. The agency also said it would put in place interagency "strike forces" to track down COVID-19 relief fraud.

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