A federal investigation into pandemic relief spending has revealed that thousands of ineligible applicants—including children and the elderly—were awarded millions in small business loans. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that 5,593 loans worth $312 million were granted to individuals under the age of 12 during the COVID-19 crisis.
The loans, issued through the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2020 and 2021, were processed using Social Security numbers that did not match applicants’ names. DOGE stated that while some minors could theoretically be involved in business operations, the sheer volume of these cases makes it unlikely that the loans were legitimate.
Further scrutiny revealed that an additional $333 million in loans was granted to 3,095 individuals listed as being at least 115 years old. Among them, a single applicant recorded as 157 years old received a $36,000 loan. Many of these individuals remained active in Social Security databases, despite their implausible ages.
During an address to Congress, President Donald Trump pointed to massive inefficiencies in government record-keeping, exposing millions of Social Security listings for individuals supposedly over 120 years old. He condemned the waste of taxpayer funds and called for a comprehensive overhaul of federal oversight.
Elon Musk, spearheading DOGE’s investigation into government waste, met with Republican lawmakers to outline a plan for identifying up to $1 trillion in unnecessary spending. Those familiar with the meeting said Musk acknowledged errors would occur but emphasized that the agency was committed to correcting them swiftly.
In addition to uncovering loan fraud, DOGE also terminated a $10.3 million contract under the Department of Agriculture that had been allocated to review redundant government agreements.
