Lawsuit Says SBA Unlawfully Denied PPP Loans to Small Business Owners with Criminal Histories

BALTIMORE — A federal lawsuit accuses the Small Business Association of unlawfully denying Paycheck Protection Program loans to small business owners with criminal records, saying it counters the purpose of the Coronavirus Aid Relief Economic Security Act.

In a June 10 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the plaintiff further contends that Congress did not authorize the SBA to exclude those businesses from the lending program, therefore the ineligibility rule is invalid.

“While Congress may once have been willing to permit the SBA to exclude these businesses from the SBA’s lending programs, that willingness …