10-Year Statute of Limitations for PPP Fraud: What You Need to Know

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling federal fraud cases. If you’re reading this, you probably received a letter from the SBA or DOJ, or your bank flagged your PPP loan. The ten-year statute of limitations means the government has until 2032 or later to investigate and prosecute your case. That’s a long time to worry.

We know what’s at stake. Our team has defended clients in complex federal fraud prosecutions, and we understand how PPP investigations work – from the initial SBA audit through DOJ criminal charges.

The Law Changed in August 2022

On August 5, 2022, President Biden signed the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act. The statute of limitations jumped from five years to ten years. This wasn’t a quiet change – Congress wanted more time to chase down fraud.

Before that law, if you received a PPP loan in April 2020, the government had until April 2025 to file charges. Now? April 2030. That’s five extra years of potential investigation, five extra years where documents can surface, five extra years where a business partner might cooperate with prosecutors.

The change affects both civil and criminal enforcement. Civil cases mean the government sues you for money – treble damages under the False Claims Act, penalties per violation. Criminal cases mean prison time, supervised release, restitution.

What Triggers the Ten-Year Clock

The statute of limitations starts when the offense is complete. But PPP fraud isn’t always a single act.

Take loan applications. You submit your application in May 2020, lying about payroll numbers. The bank approves it June 2020. Money hits your account July 2020. Which date matters? Generally, the fraud completes when you receive the funds – July 2020. Government has until July 2030 to charge you.

Forgiveness applications create a second clock. You applied for forgiveness in January 2021, falsifying how you spent the money. That’s a separate fraud – clock starts January 2021, runs to January 2031. Prosecutors often charge both the initial loan fraud and the forgiveness fraud as separate counts.

Some cases involve continuing violations. You certified compliance every quarter, each certification containing false statements. Each false certification could be a separate offense with its own limitations period. We’ve seen cases where the government argues the statute doesn’t start until the last false statement.

Wire fraud charges add complexity. Every wire transfer – loan application, forgiveness application, fund disbursement – can be charged separately. Ten different wire transfers? Ten different limitation periods. The government stacks charges this way.

Why This Matters Right Now in 2025

We’re three years past the law’s passage. Investigations that seemed dormant are heating up again. The DOJ announced in early 2025 that PPP fraud remains a top enforcement priority. They’re not backing off.

Banks are still reporting suspicious loans. The SBA flags accounts, sends files to the Inspector General, who forwards them to the Department of Justice. Your loan might have seemed fine in 2021, but data analytics in 2025 caught patterns – multiple loans to related businesses, employee counts that don’t match IRS records, expenses that don’t align with your industry.

Federal prosecutors have more than 650 active PPP investigations right now. Those investigations take time – subpoenas to banks, interviews with employees, forensic accounting. By the time charges get filed, you might be four or five years past receiving the loan. Under the old statute, prosecutors would’ve been racing the clock. Now they’re taking their time, building stronger cases.

Common Defenses and How the Timeline Affects Them

Extended statutes of limitations hurt defendants. Witnesses forget details, documents get lost, businesses close. The government keeps its records – your bank records, tax returns, loan applications – but you might not have emails from 2020 showing your intent wasn’t fraudulent.

Good faith is a complete defense to fraud. If you genuinely believed you were eligible, made an honest mistake interpreting the rules, you didn’t commit fraud. But proving that honest belief five years later? Eight years later? Harder when your CFO left the company, your accountant retired, your contemporaneous notes are gone.

We tell clients to preserve everything – every email about the PPP loan, every internal memo, every draft of your application, every payroll record. The SBA recommends keeping records for ten years from the date you received, used, or got forgiveness. That’s not a suggestion when you’re under investigation.

Lack of intent matters. Prosecutors must prove you knowingly made false statements, deliberately misused funds. If the application was confusing, the guidance contradictory, you relied on an accountant’s advice – those facts support your defense. But relying on your memory years later doesn’t work. You need documentation.

Some clients ask about the statute of limitations as a defense strategy. Can you just wait it out? Not realistically. Ten years is a long time, and tolling can extend it further. If you’re out of the country, the clock pauses. If you’re charged and the case gets dismissed on a technicality, prosecutors can refile within a certain window.

What to Do If You’re Worried About Your PPP Loan

First – don’t talk to investigators without a lawyer. The FBI and SBA investigators are skilled at making interviews feel casual. They’ll say they just want to “clear up some confusion” about your application. Anything you say can become evidence. We’ve seen cases where a client’s statement to an agent – trying to be helpful, trying to cooperate – became the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case.

Second – gather your records now. If you can’t find your loan application, get it from your lender. If you don’t have payroll records from 2020, request them from your payroll company. If you paid contractors with PPP funds, find those 1099s. The ten-year window means you might need these documents in 2029 or 2030.

Third – consider your exposure realistically. Small errors on applications – rounding employee counts, estimating quarterly payroll – probably aren’t criminal fraud. The DOJ focuses on intentional schemes: fake businesses, stolen identities, personal purchases disguised as business expenses. But “small” is subjective. We’ve seen prosecutions for $20,000 loans and $2 million loans.

If the SBA sends an audit letter, that’s not necessarily a criminal investigation. Many audits are civil – they want documentation, they’re verifying eligibility, they might claw back forgiveness. But some audits turn criminal when fraud indicators surface. Having a lawyer review the audit request helps you understand what the SBA is really asking for.

At Spodek Law Group, we represent clients through every stage – responding to SBA audits, negotiating with prosecutors before charges get filed, defending at trial if necessary. Todd Spodek is a second-generation criminal defense lawyer with years of experience in federal court. We’ve handled cases others said were unwinnable, and we understand how federal prosecutors build fraud cases.

The ten-year statute of limitations means this issue isn’t going away. The government has time, resources, and motivation. If you received a PPP loan and you’re worried about how you applied for it, how you used the funds, or how you certified forgiveness – call us. We’re available 24/7, and the consultation is risk-free.

Your future is at stake. Don’t wait until charges get filed.