Nevada tanning salon gets 9/11 loan: audit [Texas golf course, an Illinois candy shop...]

Reuters ^

[Sub-Driver]

Nevada tanning salon gets 9/11 loan: audit Thu Dec 29, 2005 03:10 PM ET

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Texas golf course, a Nevada tanning salon and an Illinois candy shop were among small businesses that may have improperly received U.S. subsidized loans intended for firms hurt by the September 11 attacks, an internal government watchdog has found.

The Small Business Administration's inspector general said in a report made public on Wednesday that in 85 percent of the sample of loans it reviewed, a company's eligibility to receive the money through the program could not be verified.

A leading Senate Republican called for further investigation, but the Small Business Administration said the program was properly implemented.

The one-year, $4.5 billion Supplemental Terrorist Activity Relief, or STAR, program offered loan guarantees to small businesses adversely affected by the September 11 attacks.

However, the Small Business Administration had failed to properly oversee lenders to make sure that only eligible borrowers obtained STAR loans, the watchdog's report found.

Money "may have gone to businesses that were not adversely impacted by the terrorist attacks of September 11th or their aftermath," wrote Robert Seabrooks, assistant inspector general for auditing.

Congress authorized the program in January 2002, and set aside $75 million to cover potential defaults. The program was operated through the Small Business Administration's main loan-guarantee program and the loans were made by participating banks. In all, 8,201 loans were approved totaling $3.7 billion, but only 7,058 were actually paid out.

[OldFriend]

This was all about the banks trolling for business. They got a nice percentage for the loans they processed.

Most, if not all of the companies that accepted the loans had no idea it was for 9/11 disaster relief.

[Bullitt]

Disgusting greed

[Cvengr]

Who says there isn't opportunity for everybody?

Just ask Matthew Lesko.

[tophat9000]

Man this is crap

I was working (in the US) for a Canadian based startup that went belly up because of 9/11 owing me 80k US

...There was a $5 mil fund transfer coming in from Europe to Canada via the Trade Center on 9/11... the money was stuck in limbo for some time after in the US..(first to find what remained of the transfer company and then the US gov froze large cash transfer in and out of the US for a while.. so the Canadians company folded owing me 80k US and I am also out of work at that point...

that screw my finance and payments to the to the point I had to sell my home...I never got a dime of help or even cut some slack for a late payment by the mortgage company....or even cut some slack for the credit dings

(I had a job offer before 9/11 that required a TS clearance before 9/11 but to get a TS clearance the first thing they look at is credit... the is now dinged because of 9/11... so now no TS clearance)....

[texassizednightcrawler]

This is the deal. The star loan program wasn't a special loan program. The article is poorly written by someone who didn't do the proper research and only wants to bash Bush. A Star Loan was a regular 7(a) loan. The difference was a reduced servicing fee was charged to the banks. If the loan was sent PLP, I bet many were, only basic eligibility was looked at. If the loan went to the district that is different matter, because a SBA loan officer would have looked at the whole package. Most the loans I know of went to travel related businesses, such as motels. I do wish that Lesko guy would to be deport to Mars. He reinforces the welfare culture.