

They were paid $37 to $55 per hour, or on a per-application basis from $2 to $8 per application.īlueacorn's owners took nearly $300 million in profits, according to the report.

"On top of the windfall obtained by enabling others to engage in PPP fraud, some of these individuals may have augmented their ill-gotten gains by engaging in PPP fraud themselves."īlueacorn used third-party companies and contractors to process, the company told investigators in a letter. "Even as these companies failed in their administration of the program, they nonetheless accrued massive profits from program administration fees, much of which was pocketed by the companies’ owners and executives," Clyburn said in a prepared statement. ‘Waste, fraud, abuse’: GOP lawmaker says House committee will investigate COVID spending Starting in 2021, startup fintech companies like Blueacorn were allowed to participate in the program.įintech companies took up a leading role in the program, which eventually issued $800 billion in forgivable loans to companies with fewer than 500 workers.

While lenders were responsible for underwriting and processing loans, for which they earned commissions of 1-5% depending on the size, they also relied on agents like those listed in the report to handle much of the work, including reviewing an applicant's qualifications. of Atlanta, Bluevine of Redwood City, Calif., and various other companies that worked with them on the loan program.

Other companies highlighted in the report include Elev8 Advisors of Phoenix, Womply of Wilmington, Del., Kabbage Inc.
#Blue acorn capital plus financial code#
The number listed online for Blueacorn uses an Illinois area code and was a personal line, according to the person answering. Neither could be reached Thursday after the report was released. Much of the report is dedicated to Phoenix-based Blueacorn PPP, which was co-founded in 2020 by former Channel 15 (KNXV-TV) newscaster Stephanie Hockridge Reis and her husband, Nate Reis. It also is making several recommendations to the Small Business Administration to tighten up emergency lending to prevent rampant fraud. The committee is recommending the Department of Justice use the findings from its 129-page report to investigate and prosecute the companies involved. But the report asserts fintech companies that processed applications perpetuated the fraud and sought to blame the Small Business Administration while earning hundreds of millions in fees for themselves. That tens of billions of aid dollars meant to help businesses retain workers during the pandemic were issued to ineligible companies is not new - the committee previous l y identified about $84 billion in potentially fraudulent loans. James Clyburn, D-S.C., released the incriminating report Thursday that alleges the companies intentionally approved high-dollar loans ahead of those meant to assist small mom-and-pop businesses and directed workers to ignore signs when applications were blatantly fraudulent. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. A congressional panel is recommending several tech and lending companies be investigated for fraud for the way they processed billions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program loans, including a Phoenix-based startup co-founded by a former television newscaster.
