BREAKING: Vance says 870,000 suspected Covid-19 fraudsters BANNED from future federal loans

"We are going to suspend 870,000 people permanently. People who defrauded the government over the last couple of years, last couple of decades. We're going to make it impossible for them to get loans from the federal government," Vance said in a press conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

"If you screwed the American taxpayer, the federal government is now going to say you're cut off, no more. You shouldn't be applying anymore. And if you do apply, you're no longer able to get those benefits," he later added.

Vance's comments coincided with a Justice Department announcement about widespread fraud prosecutions tied to pandemic-era PPP loans. Running from mid-June to early September, the effort, called the "Heartland fraud surge," led to charges against over 160 people and covered roughly $245 million in attempted taxpayer losses.

This comes over five years after the government first rolled out emergency small-business loans during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said that approximately $39 billion in suspected fraud is tied to the 870,000 loan suspensions across 45 different states. "Exposing these criminals is only the first step," Loeffler said. "This summer, we referred $22 billion to the United States Treasury for collections."

During the press conference, authorities announced several examples of prosecutions that have targeted fraudsters who have collected millions of dollars. One was the prosecution of Jamie Gray in the Western District of Missouri, who has been charged in a money laundering scheme that totaled nearly $56 million.

The effort from the Trump administration to tamp down fraud comes after massive amounts of fraud were exposed earlier this year in Minneapolis, associated with daycare centers and home healthcare businesses, with many of them being run by some in the Somali community, with much of the national attention coming after a report from journalist Nick Shirley.