Any hastily-arranged, somewhat confused half-trillion-dollar government aid program is liable to abuse by the nefarious and the powerful, and the Paycheck Protection Program has certainly been abused: Dozens of people have been charged with stealing $62 million from the stimulus package—and Congressional investors say there’s $1 billion more of the same yet to find its way into a criminal filing. And, well, wouldn’t you know it, but some of those people appear to have had some help.
[JPMorgan Chase] said it has seen “instances of customers misusing Paycheck Protection Program Loans, unemployment benefits and other government programs” and that some “employees have fallen short, too,” according to a memo to staff from the bank’s senior leaders Tuesday. The firm said the conduct doesn’t meet its principles “and may even be illegal.”
“We are doing all we can to identify those instances and cooperating with law enforcement where appropriate,” according to the memo. The bank asked workers to report any conduct that violates its policies.
JPMorgan Probing Employees’ Role in Misuse of Relief Funds [Bloomberg]