The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a part of the federal government’s coronavirus pandemic response. It was designed to give financial support to small and medium-sized businesses, giving them an additional source of income to help them keep their employees during the crisis. While the program had the best of intentions, it was also vulnerable to fraud, as people attempted to take advantage of the system to make money. Here, we explore the potential PPP fraud schemes and how businesses and the federal government can protect against them.

First, people may fraudulently use PPP funds to purchase goods and services outside of the approved types. The government requires PPP funds to go to payroll costs and other eligible expenses like rent, mortgages, and utilities. Unfortunately, not everyone has followed the guidelines, leading to fraud cases involving the use of PPP funds for unrelated payment. Businesses should strictly review the uses of their PPP funds to ensure that they stay within the approved list of costs.

Another form of PPP fraud is falsifying eligibility criteria. Since the program is only open to small and medium-sized businesses, applicants may try to falsify their eligibility to gain access to the funding. In response, the government has put safeguards in place whereby applicants must disclose any previous loans, as well as their business affiliations, to ensure that the funds are going to the right people.

Finally, those who fraudulently use the PPP

Uncover Clues and Track Down the Culprits of PPP Scams

The news of PPP scams having taken place recently have been ticking over, with indications that the perpetrators have absconded with large amounts of money. As the authorities continue to hunt them down, uncovering clues and following leads are essential to identify the culprits and bring them to justice.

In order to track down the suspects and recover the lost funds, law enforcement agencies must have access to thorough and reliable evidence. To this end, it is important to join forces and leverage the resources of both public and private sectors.

This involves a concerted effort from all parties to collect information from a variety of sources to identify the persons behind the scam, those who facilitated its commission, those who were the victims and anyone else associated with the crime. This means that all available data sources need to be tapped, including bank records, accounting activities and communications technology.

When used correctly, modern analytics and deep learning technology can be very effective at uncovering clues and understanding how criminals are orchestrating and executing their schemes. Data mining and analytics allow investigators to ask complex questions and sort through large amounts of unstructured data to eventually expose the source of the fraud.

Given the importance of uncovering evidence across the spectrum of criminal activities, the authorities must also ensure that they are equipped with up-to-date technology and resources to process the data efficiently and effectively. The use of cloud-native technology must be leveraged to ensure that the right information is available in the  right place at the right time.

Once the data is collected, it is critical to be able to analyse it and determine relationships between suspects and money trajectories. Artificial intelligence can use this data to see relationships between people, money, assets and even other illegal activities that could lead to the identification of the perpetrators.

By joining forces and combining the right technology mix with powerful analytics, law enforcement and financial investigation teams can effectively track down PPP scams and bring the perpetrators to justice. With the right resources and techniques, these criminals’ actions will not go unpunished and financial institutions will be better protected from such attacks in the future.

 Become an Expert Detective and Spot PPP Scheme Red Flags

Every project manager has the responsibility to ensure the success of their project. This translates to monitoring risks, ensuring everyone is on-track, and verifying that the project complies with all international standards.

One of the major processes most companies take when launching a new project is to consider the potential of participating in a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) scheme. By entering into such an agreement, it gives the project a chance to leverage resources, technology and access larger public funding.

However, as attractive as it sounds, it also brings a risk of potential fraud, abuse, and misappropriation of funds. To combat this, project managers need to become expert detectives to identify red flags and spot questionable activities before they too late.

The first step for project managers to become expert detectives is to understand the main components of PPP schemes. A good PPP scheme should align with the criteria of value for money, which means that it should provide the highest value for the lowest effort, allowing for better overall efficiency.

Knowing how to identify different types of characteristics and deal requirements of PPP contracts can make all the difference in spotting red flags. For example, any unusually high commission payments, complex fee structures, or long payment terms should all be investigated further. Such terms could indicate an attempt to hide kickbacks or increase the costs of the project unnecessarily.

Additionally, project managers should pay attention to the parties involved in the PPP scheme.