House panel: Ariz. company co-founded by newscaster made millions on fraudulent PPP loans

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A congressional panel is recommending companies be investigated for fraud for the way they processed billions of dollars in PPP loans.

. 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.

Other companies highlighted in the report include Elev8 Advisors of Phoenix, Womply of Wilmington, Del., Kabbage Inc. of Atlanta, Bluevine of Redwood City, Calif., and various other companies that worked with them on the loan program. "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."Blueacorn used third-party companies and contractors to process, the company told investigators in a letter. They were paid $37 to $55 per hour, or on a per-application basis from $2 to $8 per application.

The couple relocated to Puerto Rico last year, where they launched another lending consultancy, the report said.Nate Reis, co-founder of Phoenix-based Blueacorn PPP, has an ocean view at a luxury beach house in Puerto Rico.The congressional committee provided media with videos that appear to show Reis at a luxury beach house in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and also inside of a bar in Arizona.

Investigators for the committee spoke with multiple people who reviewed loan applications for Blueacorn who reported they were instructed to prioritize speed in processing applications rather than verify the applications were legitimate. The investigators also obtained Slack messages written by Hockridge Reis that indicate big loans were not only given priority but also less scrutiny for fraud.

 

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Arizona is again in the national spotlight for harboring criminals. I hope they go to jail.

Mark Kelly did the same thing. Crickets

Yawn.

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