SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act lengthens the time federal prosecutors and civil enforcement agencies have to bring fraud cases involving certain COVID-era Small Business Administration relief grants. It applies to Shuttered Venue Operators Grants and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants.
The bill gives the government 10 years from the violation or conspiracy to bring criminal prosecutions or civil enforcement actions for listed fraud, false-claims, identity-theft, wire-fraud, bank-fraud, money-laundering, and related offenses tied to those grants.
Who Benefits and How
The Department of Justice, SBA Office of Inspector General, and federal civil enforcement lawyers benefit because they get a longer limitations period to investigate and file cases involving complex pandemic-relief fraud. Federal taxpayers benefit if more wrongly obtained grant money can be recovered or penalties imposed.
Legitimate shuttered venue operators and restaurant grant recipients benefit indirectly because the bill distinguishes lawful grant recipients from fraudulent applicants and protects the integrity of the relief programs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Fraudulent pandemic-relief grant recipients and fraud conspirators must live with a longer 10-year enforcement window and can face prosecution, civil penalties, false-claims liability, money-laundering claims, or restitution efforts long after the grant violation occurred. The Department of Justice and SBA Inspector General must keep investigation and case-management capacity available for older covered grant cases.
Federal courts, defendants, and counsel may be required to litigate older facts and preserve evidence because covered cases can be filed up to 10 years after the violation or conspiracy.
Key Provisions
- Adds a 10-year statute of limitations for criminal and civil actions involving Shuttered Venue Operators Grant fraud.
- Adds a matching 10-year statute of limitations for Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant fraud.
- Extends listed title 18 fraud, identity-theft, bank-fraud, conspiracy, and money-laundering enforcement for covered grants.
- Extends False Claims Act and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act actions tied to the listed SBA grants.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends the limitations period to 10 years for criminal and civil enforcement actions involving fraud in SBA shuttered venue and restaurant revitalization grants.
Key Policy Areas
Government Operations, Criminal Justice, Small Business
Primary Purpose
Extends the limitations period to 10 years for criminal and civil enforcement actions involving fraud in SBA shuttered venue and restaurant revitalization grants.
Policy Domains
Whole bill
Identified Gains
- Department of Justice
- SBA Office of Inspector General
- Federal taxpayers
- Legitimate shuttered venue operators
- Legitimate restaurant grant recipients
Identified Costs
- Fraudulent pandemic-relief grant recipients
- Department of Justice prosecutors
- SBA Inspector General investigators
- Federal courts
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateReceived in the House.
Held at the desk.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by …
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text of …
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S2107-2108)
The committee substitute withdrawn by Unanimous Consent.
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal prosecutors and enforcement agencies (DOJ, SBA OIG)
Shuttered venue operators who received legitimate grants
Restaurant owners who received legitimate grants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary or agency head identified in the operative section
- "administrator"
- → Administrator identified in the operative section
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology