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The curmudgeonly but charming female lead is a tough niche to fill, but Hannah Einbinder has it covered. After spending years shopping her deadpan absurdist standup around Los Angeles, Einbinder landed the lead role in HBO Max’s Hacks—a dark comedy that propelled the 27-year-old L.A. native from cult figure in the local comedy circuit to bi icon splashed across every other billboard on Sunset Boulevard. On Hacks, Einbinder plays Ava, an upstart TV writer who falls from grace after an untoward tweet. The mishap leaves her an industry pariah, and she’s banished to Las Vegas to write stale jokes for an aging comedian (Jean Smart). But Ava’s career nihilism is no match for her own ego—a combination which makes Einbinder’s ability to endear audiences to her prickly character all the more remarkable. In fact, some of that nihilism may be Einbinder’s own. Here, the actor and comedian dropped by the home of her friend Reggie Watts for a chat about the end of days, AI’s imminent takeover, and the problem with pool parties.

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REGGIE WATTS: So, what do you think the future of media is, for TV shows and movies?

HANNAH EINBINDER: Well, I hope that storytelling lives on, but so much of what reality television has done to media is put the storytelling, quote unquote, in the hands of truly anyone who can record themselves or who’s just kind of aimlessly living. And I think with YouTubers and bloggers and this generation sort of staying in that zone in terms of what they consume—I mean, kids of a certain age really don’t watch TV, from what I can tell.

WATTS: No, for sure not.

EINBINDER: They’re online, they’re on TikTok, they’re-

WATTS: They’re working. That’s what it feels like.

EINBINDER: Completely, yeah. But I think that signals to me that it’s just going to be bite-sized, very little narrative. I truly think the end of the road is people watching a video of someone sleeping. Like, cut to the Emmy’s 2055, and Best Drama is just someone sleeping. It’s really, I think, heading to a crazy bizarre place. But here’s the concrete idea: Life itself is such a nightmare. The reality of life in our country is so unbearable for kids who know no normalcy whatsoever. For this group of kids who are coming up at a time where there is just death all around them, media will be sort of ASMR. They will watch people living life in a calm and peaceful way, making their meals, cutting fruit, taking a shower, walking a dog, doing simple things, and will get pleasure from experiencing a caricature of human life that is not achievable.

WATTS: If it actually ends up happening exactly like that, and there is no other form of storytelling, that would be kind of dire—but possibly not dire as well. Possibly just what it is.

EINBINDER: It is what it is, and it will be what it is, if that is what it is—really there’s no cleaner way to say that. But I do believe that if that is how it ends up, then it is out of necessity.

WATTS: Yeah. In Idiocracy the highest grossing movie was called Ass, and it was just a shot of a man’s naked ass for two hours straight.

EINBINDER: Absolutely. That’s 2022, we’re there. In fact, that’s 2018.

WATTS: But at the same time, we do have these incredible TV shows and movies. And also AI is making such progress that it can possibly start to generate films. 

EINBINDER: And with that comes the conversation of, who gets to make movies? Is AI included in the community? Is that work valid? Can it compete against human work? And that whole conversation obviously extends beyond movies. But we see it so much right now in the media and culture and art and cinema. Like in Her—we’re already starting to examine it. What constitutes life? Does it have anything to do with our current political divisions?

WATTS: I don’t know. My hope is that AI progresses far beyond the trivial idiocy of human beings—the things that we get hung up on, all the categorizations and whatever fragmented fences and barriers we put up to delineate each other. Those things are so stupid and just so truly unnecessary and easy to avoid. The correct answers to how to create a better world, to create a better quality of life for as many human beings as possible, are all there. The information is there, all the solutions exist. But it’s all just in the hands of a few assholes that have resources and have access to things that can determine who lives or dies.

EINBINDER: It’s so simple.

WATTS: Super simple. At the same time, progress is undeniable. I think there will be a time when we’ll have an unlimited source of generating energy. Then every country will be able to produce its own.

EINBINDER: And surely the men on top will find a way to make that a war.

WATTS: They’ll try, but at a certain point, I think people are just going to get tired of it and be like, “I’m kind of done with this.” You know what I mean? Because it’s outdated. It doesn’t work anymore. It’s not interesting. It’s the same thing with Generation Z or Generation Alpha and what they’re interested in, what is important to them, like issues of gender, binaries, and how the world is built around that, what it means. It’s that generation’s way of creating counterculture, on one hand. It’s a true, interesting topic for human beings to talk about for sure, the traditionalism of binary systems and the way that applies to gender, to the way that people are treated, and the way that one identifies themselves through that lens or that spectrum. So it’s a conversation, but it’s also a counterculture movement. It’s a movement that delineates itself differently than an older generation. It’s a way that a generation is seeing itself and asking questions. For my generation, Gen X, the counterculture was to be, like, punk rock. It was being contrarian and doing seemingly violent things—things that had the appearance of violence and the energy of violence, but weren’t actually violent.

EINBINDER: I saw a meme that I loved so much, it said, “Hippies are bad people pretending to be good, and punks are good people pretending to be bad.” Isn’t that so funny?

WATTS: Oh my gosh. That’s so true. I know some mean hippies.

EINBINDER: I mean, the word “hippie” in LA is so hard to even conceptualize because it’s like, does that mean “new age”? Does that mean it’s rooted in, like, a wellness practice? 

WATTS: Is it just kind of crusty living?

EINBINDER: Yeah. And that’s something that I don’t even ascribe to L.A. really. It’s more Portland, Vermont.

WATTS: Right, yeah. But what’s interesting about all of that is I think we’re all trying to find our way back to ourselves. Our world makes it seem as though everything is so compartmentalized. We have different eye color. We have different hair color. We have different aesthetic tastes. We drive different vehicles. Just think of whatever makes a person who they are—the attributes of where they were born, how they were raised, what they had access to, and so on. All that makes an individual feel different from those around them. But at the end of the day, everyone just wants to have a good time. In general, we all just want to feel safe and secure and to solve problems. I think people really love helping—they love having a place in the world and being useful. 

EINBINDER: Yeah, completely.

WATTS: So we get a better understanding of who we are as beings by asking questions like, “Where are we going? What do we mean to each other? What am I doing when I’m working all the time for these numbers that appear in a bank account that I never actually see?”

EINBINDER: That don’t exist.

WATTS: That don’t exist! And I get it, I understand how it works. But is that the best we get to be? Is that it? Did we pinnacle?

EINBINDER: I think we’ve reached a breaking point where counterculture today centers around asking the question, “What do the most basic, internalized ideas about human society even mean?” The answer is, “Nothing.” Everything is meaningless, including the oldest fucking ideas about what man is and what woman is. It’s over. That is the beginning of blowing the lid off the whole fucking thing.

WATTS: Yeah, I hope so. It’s an opportunity for us to evolve beyond the petty—stirring up controversy on purpose to keep people occupied, and all that. That’s just a misuse of gifts and powers and opportunity.

EINBINDER: I feel like I’m most aware of this when I’m on a walk and I pass someone and hear a snippet of their conversation. Hearing that random person makes me feel like a random person.

WATTS: Right.

EINBINDER: Everyone is just some guy. Period. Guess what? If you’re reading this, your dad—sorry, baby—is just some guy. You are some random fucking guy. I am some random fucking guy. And that is so freeing.

WATTS: It is freeing. It enables you to walk up to strangers and just immediately comment on something as though we’ve known each other a long time. I love that. It’s not a huge effort to talk to someone as though they’re your friend. It’s like we’re all one being, and you can access that if you hit it at the right angle.

EINBINDER: Absolutely. And what you’re talking about is such a beautiful way to shake someone awake, because it can be jarring. Sometimes they’re a person who’s kind of resistant to that familiarity so they’re awkwardly laughing it off or whatever. But when you keep going and you look them in the eyes and they join you, it really is like shaking someone awake.

WATTS: It’s the most rewarding feeling in the world, isn’t it? When you do have that moment. And obviously some of us are more able  to do that than others. I love going into a party where no one’s dancing and then I start dancing with my friends, we start having a good time, and suddenly everybody’s on the dance floor. It’s like, “I want more people to be dancing and having fun, so let’s just make a reality.”

EINBINDER: The party analogy is so incredible, and specifically a pool party, right? Pool parties when you’re 12, yeah everybody’s in the pool. Pool parties now, it’s like, “Why is there a pool here? No one is in the pool. No one is going to go in the pool.” 

WATTS: The American prudishness.

EINBINDER: Oh my god. Correct.

WATTS: We pretend, “Oh yeah, we’re so hot.” But only if you’re ultra-hot do you have no fears. So anything less than that ideal is like, “I’m a work in progress”

EINBINDER: Right. Because in America, real bodies are so not normal whatsoever.

WATTS: Oh no. Forbidden.

EINBINDER: Yeah, like a “no diving” sign. “Normal bodies forbidden.”

WATTS: Totally. “Elite bodies only.”

EINBINDER: Because America revolves around the entertainment industry and celebrities are expected to be stunning and beautiful and perfect. We are all shamed when we are not that.

WATTS: But now that’s changing. 

EINBINDER: And that rocks! Look, there’s a girl with cystic acne on billboards all over this city, and it’s me! But yeah, when somebody gets in the pool at a party, it just elevates things. I remember being at this party at the Roosevelt with two of my little sisters and they were the only ones getting in the pool because it was this Hollywood shindig and everybody was so cool. But they got in the pool so then I was like, “I’m going to get in the pool, too.” And I did, and then other people started getting in the pool and the party became—

WATTS: A fucking party.

EINBINDER: A fucking party! People’s guards went down and it went from shitty Hollywood pretentious bullshit to handstand competitions, and it was fun. Getting in the pool at parties is totally counterculture.

WATTS: Oh yeah. Actually taking advantage of the thing that generally is only a symbolic attractor. It’s almost like the pool party is more of a conceptual idea.

EINBINDER: “It will be stunning to look at the pool at this party.”

WATTS: “It is a pool party because there is a pool.”

EINBINDER: “The pool’s coming.”

WATTS: “It’s the idea of a pool and a party.”

EINBINDER: “The pool determines the attire for the party.”

WATTS: In general, when there’s a dance floor or there’s a pool and they’ve set up this stuff for people to interact with, it needs to be activated. As you say, it changes the dynamics. And then everyone’s like, “What a blast. We weren’t obsessing over our insecurities, or masking them with our various strategies. Instead, we just embraced the situation.

EINBINDER: And you transition from being an individual to being part of a whole. Anxiety is real, I have it and I understand it. Part of the work that I am to combat is it reminding myself of this idea that we are all part of one thing. Even just knowing that you can say something to the person in the elevator—why does it have to be so fucking quiet? 

WATTS: Totally. There’s a lot that’s coming to a head, culturally right now, and the only antidote I see is to live like the world is the place you dream it to be—storytelling is a huge part of that. All of these categorizations—Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, whatever—need to go away, because they’re not useful tools anymore, they don’t solve a problem anymore. So now they’re no longer tools, they’re just things that perpetuate problems. So we need to go beyond that language and way of thinking and say, “How can I connect with you as a human being?” If people immediately approach each other just as a person, it’s amazing. By the way, are we still recording this? We are, oh my god.

EINBINDER: We’re still rocking and rolling. Just an author’s note: When we moved to the kitchen, shit really started to fly.

WATTS: Yeah. Kitchen talk: good. Couch talk: okay.  Not totally us. This is us.

EINBINDER: This is us.

WATTS: A great show.

EINBINDER: On ABC. Eight, seven central…I actually don’t even know if it’s on ABC.

WATTS: What if this whole thing just turns out to be us trying  to convince people to watch that show. [Both laugh]

EINBINDER: Please entitle this interview, “Reggie Watts and Hannah Einbinder Want You to Watch This Is Us.”

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Eye fixation exercises are a technique Marissa Santiago teaches her students who are prepping for college admission exams. 

 

What You Need To Know 

• Marissa Santiago is the regional director at the Sylvan Learning Center

• The SAT and ACT exams help determine college admissions and award merit-based scholarships 

• Both the SAT and ACT are timed, standardized tests for post-secondary education

 

“It’s going to help you increase your effective reading rate, increase the speed in which you read and help you locate key information on the SAT and ACT,” Santiago said. 

Santiago is the regional director for the Sylvan Learning Center. She specializes in research education, and part of her job is to help provide students with strategies to succeed on standardized tests and reduce testing anxiety. 

“Learning how the brain works, the best way to teach students. We work with K-12 students. This has given me the opportunity to apply that and show parents, coordinate with parents, what strategies work best since it’s not that one size fits all approach,” Santiago said. 

While some colleges and universities are steering away from requiring standardized tests for admissions, there are some schools that still require an SAT or ACT score for admission. 

The SAT and ACT determine a students readiness for college and are used to make admission decisions and award merit-based scholarships. 

Both exams are timed and include topics in reading, math, writing and language. The ACT also tests students on science reasoning. While one test is no more difficult than another, Santiago says deciding which exam is best for a student comes down to their individual goals. 

Santiago says the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students’ testing scores. 

“A lot of the times, coming out of COVID, students are placing lower on entry level math courses and reading strategies. Also, since that was the time for virtual, it’s a huge indicator that learning for some students didn’t start until they got back into the classroom,” Santiago said. 

Santiago says at the Sylvan Learning Center she teaches her students who are coming in for ACT or SAT prep specific strategies to improve their time management on the exam. 

“Students who typically complete this program double and triple their effective reading rates,” Santiago said. 

Jedidja Andovie began seeking homework help at the Sylvan Learning Center in Wake Forest when he was in eighth grade. Andovie is now a 2022 high school graduate and preparing to begin his first year at Wake Tech. 

“In my case, even though I wasn’t very studious, I was still able to pick up on life changing lessons and skills that I use on a daily basis, and as I learned those things and got better, the motivation came and now I would say I’m a better student,” Andovie said. 

Santiago says for students who struggle with testing anxiety, it’s important to know the resources that are out there to build a tool box on test day. 

“I think a lot of the time parents and students don’t know the resources they have and how they can work ahead and focus on their interests in the school system, so it’s really important to advocate and learn those things while you are in school,” Santiago said. 

While the SAT and ACT play a role on college applications, it’s not the only factor to determine a student’s admission. Some tips Santiago suggests is to make sure students focus on having a well-rounded application, which includes managing a high GPA, getting involved in extracurricular activities at school and participating in volunteer opportunities outside of the classroom. 

A local group is helping students continue education through generous donations presented at a ceremony this weekend.

Butler Elks is hosting an Awards Day on Sunday at Elks Lodge #170.  This year the Elks will be awarding 23 local Butler County high school seniors with a $1,000 scholarship each for a total of $23,000 which is the highest amount of scholarship awards they’ve ever given.

In addition to the scholarships, the Elks is partnering with Butler County Veterans in Need program and will be providing needy veterans with home goods such as utensils, dishes, pots/pans, blankets, sheets & things they need for their homes. BC Vets In Need will provide needy vets with furniture.

The Elks will also be awarding Butler Health System with a Certificate of Honor for “Properly Flying the American Flag”.

The Western PA Chapter of Folds of Honor and several Elks dignitaries will be in attendance and there will be a high school Color Guard performance as well.

The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.

By Justin Miller

AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – The harvest may be plentiful, but the storage is likely few. If every flat kitchen surface is filled with garden goodies, freezing the surplus is a great way to enjoy fresh vegetables all year long.

The Three Ps of Freezing

Gardeners can take some simple steps to ensure quality freshness for eight to 12 months.

“When properly picked, prepped and packed, vegetables can hold their fresh qualities for about a year,” said Janice Hall, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System coordinator for Macon County.

Picking

When picking vegetables to freeze, time is of the essence. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to have the produce picked, prepped and packed in the freezer within two hours of picking them.

In general, vegetables are better if they are picked early in the morning, right when the dew is off the vines. When picking vegetables to freeze, remember tender and just-matured ones are best.

Prepping

The first step to prepping vegetables is a thorough wash. This is the perfect time to look for inferior or overly mature vegetables; remove those. After washing, it is time to blanch. Blanching is a cooking method in which the vegetables are quickly cooked with water to stop the enzyme action. If not blanched, this enzyme action can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.

“Properly blanching vegetables is a must,” Hall said. “This stops the enzymes from destroying the fresh flavor of the vegetables, while also removing bacteria.”

After the vegetables have been properly blanched, they must be “shocked” in cold ice water to stop the cooking process.

“To stop the cooking, submerge the vegetables into cold water that is at least 60 ºF or below,” Hall said. “Blanching and cooling should take about the same length of time.”

Packing

Choosing the right container is essential when packing vegetables for the freezer. Instead of large bunches, Hall suggests packing meal-size portions firmly in moisture- and vapor-resistant freezer containers. Use containers that are odor-free, grease-resistant and crack-proof at low freezer temperatures.

“It is important to check approved recipes for the required headspace,” Hall said. “Headspace is the distance from the opening of the container to the packed food. It allows for expansion of the food as it freezes.”

Label and date containers before storing in the freezer. Freezer tape is another way to identify vegetables and packing dates. Do not overload the freezer, as this will add to the freezing times. For optimal quality, place the containers in the coldest part of the freezer and store at 0 °F or below.

More Information
In-depth freezing instructions are available in the Alabama Extension publication Freezing Summer’s Bounty of Vegetables available at www.aces.edu.

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GREEN BAY – The area’s largest firework show is returning in full force this year for the Fourth of July.

The Festival Foods Fire Over the Fox event was called off in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was scaled-back in 2021, but organizers are preparing to host a full-capacity event this Independence Day.

“Downtown Green Bay’s local businesses will be open for all the patriotic foot traffic this Fourth of July,” Emily Cubitt, marketing manager for Downtown Green Bay, Inc., said. “Live music will fill the streets while holiday sales and one-of-a-kind menus will keep you busy shopping and dining throughout the districts.”

Cubitt said a gamut of sights and sounds along the downtown waterfront, on both sides of the Fox River, are available throughout the day.
“Keep cool with a handcrafted drink, support local on Independence Day and end the day with the area’s brightest fireworks show,” she said.
This year’s celebration kicks off at 3 p.m. at locations throughout the downtown area including Leicht Park, the Neville Museum parking lot, along the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge and Green Bay City Deck.

“The community has been anxiously awaiting the return of this event in full force,” Allie Thut, director of special events for On Broadway, Inc., said. “It is one of the largest events in downtown Green Bay, and it truly brings the community together for an entire evening of entertainment and fun.”

There will be live music scattered throughout the area – including a main stage in Leicht Park, a kids stage and activities in the Neville Public Museum parking lot and a music stage on City Deck as well.

Food trucks of all kinds will line Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge connecting one side of the river’s activities to the other.

“You’ll see some of your favorite activities finally returning to this year’s event,” Thut said. “Expect a show from the Waterboard Warriors, live music, bounce houses, food trucks, drinks and so much more.”

The Waterboard Warriors Water Ski Show, scheduled for 4 p.m., can be viewed from the shores of Leicht Park or from the Main Street Bridge.
Organizers estimate the event draws more than 100,000 people to downtown Green Bay, and with the return to full capacity, they expect attendance to return to normal.

The firework show begins after dusk and is paired to music.

VIP seating
Tickets are now on sale for the VIP seating area along the river on the paved sidewalk in Leicht Memorial Park – for those looking for the “best seat in the house” to watch the patriotic display.

The cost is $12 to reserve a chair for an up-close, designated view of the show.

Folks will be allowed into the VIP seating area starting at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket holders will choose their seat when they arrive on a first-come first-serve basis.

One ticket is required per person.

For more information and a link to buy VIP tickets, head to downtowngreenbay.com.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – The Franklin County staple announced changes to its business structure.

“I get up at 3 every morning,” Brent Craighead, a milkman said. Craighead has been delivering with the business for 8 years

“I get here by 4 and head out, it’s been a true pleasure,” said Craighead.

A true pleasure for Craighead because he’s never met a stranger while delivering milk to people’s homes.

“I know which dogs to run from, which dogs to give a lot of dog treats,” Craighead said.

In fact, the milkman has made friends for life

“I think the world of them, I’m more than just a milkman. I love to talk to them, they came to my daughter’s birthday party.”

Craighead has been driving on routes all over Franklin County.

He’s more than just a milkman, he’s a man of many trades.

“Some lady had some plumbing issues, I helped fixed her sink and toilet one day and one lady said ‘I have a treadmill I need you to put together.’”

So, it’s no surprise that many people are going to miss their favorite milkman.

“This decision does not come lightly,” Amy Rice with Homestead Creamery said.

Staffers at Homestead Creamery told us there are several factors why the business decided to stop delivering milk to homes.

Some reasons include the pandemic, inflation with gas prices and staffing shortages.

“We did continue a little bit longer than anticipated we kind of put it into perspective at the beginning of the year, and then just kind of reevaluated everything, and made our decision that way,” Rice said.

But the milkman expresses gratitude for working at the creamery.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve,” Craighead said.

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Take this as a cautionary note, C-suite financial executives: We are now living through version 2.0 of COVID-19 stimulus related investigations. Federal authorities appear to be operating under a strong mandate to ferret out perceived fraud and abuse in the oft-confusing world of COVID-19 stimulus programs, and they are no longer going after only the low-hanging fruit.

As such, the time is now for CFOs and other financial executives who are involved in these programs to ensure their proverbial houses are in order under the watchful eye of a white collar criminal and regulatory defense attorney. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that also holds true in this area of the law. 

Early intervention can often spot problems so they can be addressed before it is too late. For example, unintentionally over-funded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans should be addressed before a forgiveness application is filed. Likewise, an Employee Retention Credit (ERC) election often requires tax filings to be amended. Careful navigation of the labyrinth of ERC eligibility criteria as part of that process is a must.

Where We Have Been 

It’s important to take a moment to remember how we have come to find ourselves in this unusual situation. Back in March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to derail the U.S. economy, Congress acted with rare speed and decisiveness to fashion a series of stimulus programs aimed at protecting Main Street from an economic calamity. Only weeks into the most significant public health emergency in 100 years, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was providing forgivable federal loans to small and mid-sized businesses to help keep their operations afloat amid a wave of mandatory shutdowns and other measures aimed at stopping the spread of the virus. It was quickly followed by additional programs designed to address specific aspects of the broad and devastating scope of COVID-19 financial toll.

Criminal enforcement activity began within weeks after the proceeds of the first forgivable PPP loans were disbursed, with the first PPP fraud cases progressing at a pace uncharacteristic of the government’s typically slow and steady white collar criminal investigations.

At the beginning, most PPP borrowers who found themselves in the government’s crosshairs were charged with blatant fraud: fake companies with ginned up payroll records; loan proceeds used for personal luxuries; individuals and entities precluded from participating in such federal programs attempting to access loans; and opportunistic schemers making empty promises to naïve borrowers that they could maximize their loan proceeds for a fee. Those cases have resulted in an astonishing number of convictions for the federal government, and significant jail time for those responsible for making the loan applications.

Where We Are Now

In September 2020, a Congressional Select Committee began publicly exposing an enormous amount of fraud and abuse in the pandemic stimulus programs. By March 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said publicly that its investigators alone had uncovered more than $1.8 billion in fraudulent activity related to COVID-19 stimulus funds.

In his first State of the Union address, delivered on March 1, 2022, President Biden promised that “the watchdogs are back,” announcing the appointment of a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force Chief Prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Coinciding with the announcement, DOJ requested a sizeable budget increase to hire additional prosecutors around the country to help bolster the Chief Prosecutor’s team. There is precedent for this type of focused prosecutorial mandate, and it means borrowers, lending institutions and anyone else that touched COVID-19 stimulus money had better gear-up too.

Qualitatively, the types of COVID-19 cases we have been seeing have been evolving for some time now. The DOJ started by bringing cases where alleged fraud was somewhat easy to spot for the government, but now the cases have become more nuanced. For example, the already target-rich enforcement environment of PPP has been expanded to a half dozen or so later COVID-19 stimulus programs such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), ERC, and a handful of other initiatives tailored to specific sectors of the economy particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

EIDL was once considered a relatively safe space because, unlike PPP, the vast majority of the loans received under the program must be repaid, albeit at below-market interest rates. However, scrutiny of surrounding borrowers’ use of these funds, which was initially quite narrow and later expanded by amendments to the lending program, has increased significantly. Similarly, the refundable ERC is wreaking havoc on taxpayers grappling with revenue recognition issues. Put succinctly, the introduction of programs other than PPP has given the government more potential opportunities to pounce, and it means investigators are not just going after relatively easy alleged fraudulent misrepresentation cases any longer – they are getting into the granular details.

While there are more programs for the government to examine these days, prosecutors’ toolkit is evolving too. Headline-grabbing criminal fraud prosecutions make a splash. The government quite obviously sought out easy cases to bring quickly during the initial days of the PPP because of the perceived deterrent value that accompanied that early, aggressive enforcement. Nothing sends a better warning to those thinking about misusing federal dollars than a “perp walk.” However, there are only so many easy cases to go around. Eventually, the government has to put in some work if it wants to keep making cases, and that is what investigators are doing. 

The number of PPP forgiveness applications flagged for review and audit that I have encountered in my practice over the past several months is astonishing. Preliminary PPP forgiveness denials and requests for information by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with a borrower’s PPP forgiveness application, channeled through the banks tasked with administering PPP, should not be treated any differently than a tax audit. The government is using sophisticated technology such as artificial intelligence to examine discrepancies across loan and forgiveness applications, along with other government-mandated filings, to look for indications of fraud. What may appear on its face as an innocuous enough follow up to your forgiveness application is actually just another way the government is building cases against program participants. Such requests should not be taken lightly.

Moreover, now more than two years into this ordeal, we are about to see an overwhelming number of Qui Tam, or whistleblower cases, surrounding COVID-19 stimulus programs result in civil and criminal sanctions against program participants. By their very nature, Qui Tam cases are brought under seal by a private whistleblower. Whistleblowers are incentivized by the possibility of recovering statutory damages and the whistleblower’s attorneys’ fees. The cases are filed without disclosure to anyone other than the government so they can be thoroughly investigated for criminal wrongdoing. Using powerful statutory tools, both the private litigant and the government can obtain a civil recovery, and if the government uncovers evidence of a crime while the secretly filed pleading is being examined by authorities, it can also bring criminal charges. Because of the unique way that these cases arise, they take time to develop. There should be no doubt that secret dockets are stacked with Qui Tam cases, and as more time passes, they will start to be unsealed. That process has picked up dramatically in the first few months of 2022. 

Financial institutions, called upon to administer PPP, were once thought to be immune from the government’s COVID-19 stimulus fraud dragnet. That thinking, stemming from some limited bank-friendly language included in the PPP’s initial enabling legislation, has turned out to be completely wrong. Criminal investigations targeting lenders are on the rise, and as the primary repository for stimulus-related records, that means the collateral fallout to the banks’ customers should not be ignored.

While we cannot predict precisely what shoe will drop next with pandemic stimulus enforcement, there is no question that the government is now more active in this space than ever before.