News & Press

…”After further investigation, we’ve learned that no Parkview Health entity has applied for a PPP loan,” Jessica Foor, Parkview’s Communications Director, told us. “We have contacted the Department of Justice and the Small Business Administration to report suspected fraud.”…

A leading expert on fraud stemming from the Paycheck Protection Program tells ABC21 that the massive government-backed effort isn’t designed for market-topping employers like Parkview Health.

“So when you have an employer that employs thousands of people, they should have been disqualified right up front,” Brian Sanvidge said.

These days, Sanvidge heads up regulatory compliance and investigations for the New York City-based Anchin, Block & Anchin, LLP, a 98-year old accounting firm. Previously, he served as Inspector General for the New York State Department of Labor, where he oversaw more than 5,000 investigations during a 12-year period.

Sanvidge appreciates the role the government has played in helping businesses emerge from the pandemic.

“These are very good programs that are designed to help out individuals and to help out businesses keeping people on the payroll,” he said.

But he’s well aware of the widespread effort to take advantage of the situation.

“You have to create documents for this entity, payroll records, and financial statements, and the information that would’ve accompanied the loan application,” he told us. “Current stats are saying about 5 percent of government funds are subject to fraud waste and abuse.

“When you look at the trillions of dollars between the three stimulus packages that have already been approved, you can quickly see how large those numbers are ultimately going to be.”

Sanvidge has been compiling data showing just how big an issue that has become, and he shared it with ABC21.

To date: $626 million has been seized or forfeited as a result of civil and criminal investigations involving the PPP and related government programs.

“This is literally going to be the tip of the iceberg. There are over 150,000 hotline complaints already received by the SBA Inspector General’s office,” he said.

We asked — Could someone really get away with something as bold as a Parkview impersonation?

“I am sure the goal was to cash the check,” he said. “Ultimately, those funds would’ve been wired into the account.

“When you actually do the application, you actually put where you want the funds to be wired, too. This was all done through an electronic transfer, so that information would’ve been included in your application, as to where you wanted the funds.”

Funds are actually issued by a lender — not the SBA or any other government entity.

See the original interview at WPTA 21.com.