The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has exposed a massive oversight failure in federal COVID relief programs, revealing that thousands of small business loans were granted to children. A total of 5,593 loans, worth $312 million, were issued to applicants under the age of 12 during the pandemic.
The Small Business Administration (SBA), responsible for processing these loans, approved them despite the applicants using Social Security numbers that did not match their names. DOGE stated that while rare exceptions exist where minors could be associated with legitimate businesses, it is unlikely that thousands of cases were lawful.
Investigators also discovered that over $333 million in relief loans were approved for individuals listed as 115 years old or older. One such case involved a person recorded as 157 years old, who received $36,000 in federal assistance. Many of these applicants remained active in government records, raising further concerns about database integrity.
During an address to Congress, President Donald Trump pointed out widespread mismanagement in federal agencies, citing government records that include millions of supposed centenarians still listed as alive. He called for an overhaul of oversight measures to prevent taxpayer dollars from being wasted on fraudulent claims.
Elon Musk, who leads DOGE’s efforts to eliminate government waste, recently met with House Republicans to discuss targeting $1 trillion in misused federal funds. Lawmakers said Musk’s team is committed to quickly correcting errors as they uncover more cases of fraud and mismanagement.
