>>most of her “employees” were actually independent contractors, not on a payroll, and not receiving benefits.
correct, and because they were independent contractors, they could have - and probably did - apply for their own forgivable loans.
Stupid people borrowing money and signing paperwork they didn’t read and can’t understand - what could possibly go wrong?
And.....did she actually pay these contractors the $$? There should be reciepts, for all transactions....maybe the contractors were double paid (by her and their own loans) and may have to pay back.
If you don’t know the difference between an employee and a contractor, you probably should not be in business.
More than that, if I remember correctly the loans were based on wages paid and reported on 941s. If she received the loan based on ordinary wages and then chose to flip all her “employees” to “contractors” she probably committed fraud.