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When Does the Statute of Limitations Actually Start for PPP Fraud?

When Does the Statute of Limitations Actually Start for PPP Fraud?

The 10-year clock doesn’t start when you think it does. That’s the simple, uncomfortable truth that most people searching this question don’t want to hear. You know theirs a 10-year statute of limitations for PPP fraud. That parts pretty well established by now. But the question your actually asking—the one keeping you up at night—is when does YOUR clock start ticking?

Here’s what I can tell you right now: the answer is more complicated then “from when you got the loan.” The statute of limitations runs from whichever is later: the date you recieved the loan, the date you used the funds, or the date your forgiveness was granted. And that “whichever is later” rule is absolutley critical to understanding your actual exposure window.

If your like most people, you’ve been counting down from your loan date. Maybe you got your PPP loan in April 2020, and your thinking “April 2030, that’s my safe date.” But if you recieved forgiveness in September 2021? Your deadline might actually be September 2031—a full 18 months later then you thought. And if you made false statements on that forgiveness application, we’re talking about a completley seperate crime with a completley seperate clock.

This article is going to explain exactly when your statute of limitations starts, how to calculate your specific deadline, and why your forgiveness application might have made your situation worse instead of better.

The “Whichever Is Later” Rule That Changes Everything

Lets start with the basic legal framework, because understanding this is essential to calculating your actual risk window. In August 2022, President Biden signed two laws that extended the statute of limitations for PPP and EIDL fraud from what was previously 5-6 years to a full 10 years: the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of 2022 and the COVID-19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022.

But here’s the part that most people miss completley, and its the part that actually matters for YOUR situation: the 10-year period doesn’t just run from when you got the loan. According to the statutory language and federal guidance, the clock starts from “the date a loan was received, used, and—if applicable—forgiven, whichever date is later.”

Think about what that actualy means for a second. If the fraud was in your application and you got the money in April 2020, your clock starts April 2020. But if the fraud was in how you spent the money, your clock might start from when you made those improper expenditures—which could be weeks or months after you recieved the funds. And if you filed for forgiveness and made false statements on that application, a whole seperate clock starts from when you submitted that forgiveness paperwork.

This isn’t some technicality that only matters in edge cases. This is the actual rule that determines when the goverment can and cannot prosecute you.

Now, I know some people are thinking: “Can they really extend the statute retroactively like that? Isn’t that unconstitutional or something?” The short answer is yes, they can do this, and no, its not unconstitutional. The Supreme Court addressed this exact issue in Stogner v. California back in 2003. The Court ruled that extending a statute of limitations that has already expired violates the Constitution’s ex post facto clause. But extending a statute that hasn’t expired yet? That’s completley constitutional and happens all the time.

Since most PPP fraud statutes of limitations hadn’t expired by August 2022 when these laws were passed, the extension applies retroactively to basically everyone. There’s no grandfathering, no exceptions for early loans. If you committed PPP fraud in 2020, you now have exposure untill 2030 at the earliest—and potentially longer depending on your forgiveness situation.

Your Forgiveness Application Started a Completley Seperate Clock

This is where things get really complicated for alot of people, and its the part that almost no one talks about clearly. When you applied for PPP loan forgiveness, you didn’t just fill out a form. You made a whole new set of certifications to the federal goverment. You certified how you spent the funds. You attested to payroll costs, rent payments, utility expenses. You signed your name swearing everything was accurate and truthful.

If any of those certifications were false—even if your original loan application was completley legitimate—you committed a seperate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 1001, which prohibits making false statements to federal agencies. This is a federal felony that carries up to 5 years in prison per false statement, though sentencing guidelines typically result in lower actual sentences for first offenders.

Here’s why this matters for your statute of limitations calculation: the clock for false statements starts from when you made the false statement. So if you submitted a forgiveness application with inaccurate information in September 2021, the statute of limitations for that crime runs from September 2021—not from when you got your original loan.

This means your dealing with multiple clocks running simultanously:

• Original loan fraud clock: Starts from when you recieved the loan (or used the funds improperly)
• Forgiveness fraud clock: Starts from when you submitted your forgiveness application
• False statements clock: Also starts from forgiveness application date
• Conspiracy clock: Starts from last act in furtherance of conspiracy (if applicable)

If you got your loan in April 2020 and submitted a forgiveness application in September 2021, you might have one statute running untill April 2030 and another running untill September 2031. The goverment can charge you with different crimes based on different dates, and each crime has its own independent statute of limitations.

And heres something that really catches people off gaurd: the DOJ COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force knows this. Their actively using forgiveness application fraud as a prosecution strategy because many people who were careful on their original applications got sloppy when it came to forgiveness. The forgiveness process felt like an afterthought to alot of business owners—just more paperwork to get the loan off the books. But prosecutors see it as a second bite at the apple.

Think about it from the prosecutors perspective for a moment. Your original loan application might have been prepared carefully, maybe with help from an accountant or preparer who knew what they were doing. The numbers might have been close enough to reality that proving fraud would be difficult. But then forgiveness time came around, and alot of people didn’t give it the same level of attention. They estimated expenses, rounded numbers up, maybe claimed payroll costs that weren’t quite as documented as they should of been.

Every single certification you made on that forgiveness application is a potential federal charge. Did you certify that you used at least 60% of funds for payroll? That’s a certification. Did you attest that you maintained employment levels? That’s another certification. Did you swear under penalty of perjury that your documentation was accurate? Thats yet another potential charge if any of it wasn’t exactly right.

The goverment doesn’t have to prove you intentionally lied on your original application from 2020. They can focus entirely on your forgiveness application from 2021, where the evidence is fresher and your statements are more recent. And that’s exactly what there doing in many cases—charging false statements on forgiveness even when they cant prove the original loan was fraudulent.

How to Calculate YOUR Specific Deadline

Okay, lets get practical. I’m going to walk you through exactly how to figure out when your statute of limitations expires. Your going to need a few pieces of information:

Step 1: Identify your loan disbursement date

When did the PPP funds actually hit your bank account? Not when you applied—when you recieved the money. This is the earliest possible start date for your statute. If you got your loan in April 2020, your earliest possible deadline is April 2030.

Step 2: Identify when you spent the funds

If your fraud involved misusing the funds (spending on non-eligible expenses, personal use, etc.), the clock might start from when you made those improper expenditures rather then when you recieved the loan. PPP funds were supposed to be used within 8-24 weeks of receipt, so if you misused funds during that period, your clock starts from the date of misuse.

Step 3: Identify your forgiveness date

When did the SBA officially grant forgiveness on your loan? Check your records from your lender. If your forgiveness was granted in 2021 or later, this might be the actual triggering date for your statute—not your original loan date.

Step 4: Consider your forgiveness application date

When did you submit your forgiveness application? If you made false statements on that application, the statute for false statements (18 U.S.C. 1001) starts from when you submitted the application, not when forgiveness was granted.

Example Calculations:

• Scenario A: Loan recieved April 2020, no forgiveness applied for = Deadline April 2030
• Scenario B: Loan recieved April 2020, forgiveness granted September 2021 = Deadline September 2031
• Scenario C: Loan recieved January 2021, forgiveness granted December 2021 = Deadline December 2031
• Scenario D: Loan recieved April 2020, forgiveness application submitted October 2021 (false statements) = False statements deadline October 2031

The critical takeaway here is that “whichever is later” rule. Your not safe when your loan date plus 10 years passes. Your safe when the LATEST of all your triggering events plus 10 years passes. And if you have multiple potential crimes (original fraud plus forgiveness fraud), each one has its own seperate deadline that needs to expire before your completley in the clear.

Lets walk through a real-world example to make this crystal clear. Say you got your first PPP loan in May 2020, used some of the funds for non-eligible expenses over the next few months, and then submitted your forgiveness application in August 2021. Here’s what your timeline looks like:

• Loan fraud statute: May 2020 + 10 years = May 2030
• Misuse fraud statute: Could be later in 2020 depending on when you misspent funds
• Forgiveness fraud statute: August 2021 + 10 years = August 2031
• False statements statute: August 2021 + 10 years = August 2031

In this scenario, your not actually safe untill August 2031—not May 2030 like you might have assumed. And thats assuming no conspiracy charges, no continuing offense issues, and no tolling events. Each of those could push things even further back.

The Continuing Offense Problem That Pushes Your Deadline Even Further

Just when you thought you had your deadline figured out, theres another wrinkle that can push things even further back. It’s called the “continuing offense doctrine,” and it applies to ongoing or continuing crimes rather then one-time offenses.

Here’s how it works. Some federal crimes—especially conspiracy and ongoing fraud schemes—are considered “continuing offenses.” For these crimes, the statute of limitations doesn’t start from the first illegal act. It starts from the last fraudulent act in furtherance of the scheme.

What does this mean practically? If you obtained your PPP loan in April 2020 but continued to take actions in furtherance of the fraud after that—maybe you submitted false documentation in June 2020, then filed a fraudulent forgiveness application in September 2021, then received forgiveness in December 2021—the statute might run from December 2021, not April 2020. Thats an extra 20 months of exposure you might not have expected.

This gets even more complicated in conspiracy cases. Under federal conspiracy law (18 U.S.C. 371), if you conspired with others to commit PPP fraud, the statute runs from the last overt act by any conspirator in furtherance of the conspiracy. That means someone elses actions can extend YOUR statute of limitations.

Did you work with a preparer who helped you with your application? Did you have business partners involved in the PPP loan? Did anyone else take actions related to your loan or forgiveness after you thought everything was done? Their later actions could extend the deadline for everyone involved in the scheme.

Real talk—this is where people who thought they had calculated things correctly discover their still at risk. You might think your deadline is April 2030 because thats when you got the loan. But if someone else involved in your situation took an action in furtherance of the fraud in 2021 or 2022, your actual deadline could be 2031 or even 2032.

I’ve seen situations where people were absolutley certain their statute had run, only to discover that some paperwork filed years later reset the clock. The continuing offense doctrine isn’t something prosecutors use in every case, but when it applies, it can dramatically extend your exposure window.

And here’s another thing alot of people don’t realize about conspiracy charges—you can be charged with conspiracy even if you didn’t know all the other conspirators. If you worked with a preparer who was helping multiple clients file fraudulent PPP applications, you might be swept up in a conspiracy charge that includes people you’ve never even met. The preparer’s actions with other clients could be considered part of the same conspiracy, and their later acts could extend the statute for everyone involved.

This happens more often then you might think. The goverment goes after the preparer first, builds a case, identifies all the clients who participated in the scheme, and then decides who else to charge. If your preparer was still filing fraudulent applications in late 2021 or 2022, that could be the date that triggers YOUR statute of limitations—even if your personal involvement ended in 2020.

I’m not saying this to scare you unnecessarily. Not every PPP case involves conspiracy charges, and the continuing offense doctrine has limits. But you need to understand that these rules exist and could apply to your situation. The simple “loan date plus 10 years” calculation only works if your dealing with a simple, one-time offense. If there’s any complexity to your situation—multiple people involved, ongoing actions, forgiveness applications—the calculation gets alot more complicated.

Events That Can Pause or Extend the Clock

Beyond the continuing offense doctrine, there are other situations where the statute of limitations clock can be paused (lawyers call this “tolled”) or extended. These don’t apply to everyone, but if they apply to you, they could significantly change your timeline.

Fleeing from justice: If you flee from prosecution or take active steps to avoid arrest, the statute of limitations is tolled during the period your avoiding authorities. This is rare in white collar cases, but it does happen.

Being outside the United States: Under 18 U.S.C. 3290, the statute is tolled while a defendant is outside the country. So if you spent significant time abroad after committing PPP fraud, those days might not count against the 10-year clock.

Federal government civil actions: In some circumstances, pending civil investigations or actions can affect the criminal statute. The False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits on behalf of the goverment, has its own timing rules that can interact with criminal statutes in complex ways.

Sealed indictments: Here’s something that scares alot of people: the goverment can obtain a sealed indictment before the statute expires and then keep it sealed for years. If a grand jury has already returned an indictment against you, the statute is satisfied even if you don’t know about it yet. The indictment doesn’t have to be unsealed untill prosecutors are ready to arrest you.

So if you’ve been counting down the days untill your statute expires, keep in mind that it might have already been satisfied by a sealed indictment you know nothing about. The first indication you’d have is federal agents showing up with an arrest warrant—potentially years after you thought the statute had run.

This isn’t meant to make you paranoid about something thats unlikely to happen. Most people who committed PPP fraud and haven’t heard anything by now probably won’t hear anything. But you should understand that the absence of any contact doesn’t necessarily mean your safe. The goverment has tools to preserve their ability to prosecute even as the statute deadline approaches.

What This Means for Your Specific Situation

So where does all this leave you? Lets be honest about what you should take away from this analysis.

First, your safe date is probably later then you thought. Most people assume their exposure ends 10 years from their loan date. For many people, its actually 10 years from their forgiveness date—or even later if false statements charges apply or if the continuing offense doctrine kicks in.

Second, you may have multiple overlapping statutes to worry about. Different crimes have different starting points. Bank fraud (18 U.S.C. 1344), wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343), false statements (18 U.S.C. 1001), and conspiracy (18 U.S.C. 371) all have independant statutes that need to expire before your completley in the clear.

Third, the goverment is still very much active. The SBA Office of Inspector General has flagged over 70,000 loans for investigation. The DOJ COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force has over 700 active cases. Their not winding down—2025 is one of the most aggressive years for enforcement activity since the pandemic started.

What should you actually do with this information?

Calculate your actual deadlines. Go through the steps above and figure out your real exposure windows. Don’t just assume loan date plus 10 years.

Preserve all documentation. Keep every document related to your PPP loan for at least 10 years from your latest potential triggering event. Original application, supporting documents, bank statements showing fund usage, forgiveness application, forgiveness approval—all of it. Do NOT destroy anything. Destruction of evidence is a seperate federal crime (obstruction of justice) that can result in harsher penalties then the underlying fraud.

Consult with a federal criminal defense attorney. I know that sounds self-serving coming from an article on a law firm website, but its genuinely the smartest thing you can do. An attorney can evaluate your specific situation, identify all potential triggering events, calculate your actual exposure windows, and help you understand your options—weather thats voluntary disclosure, preparing a defense strategy, or simply understanding what your dealing with.

One thing alot of people don’t realize is that voluntary disclosure—coming forward before your under investigation—can dramatically improve outcomes in federal cases. Prosecutors have discretion, and they tend to treat people who come forward voluntarily much more favorably then people who wait to get caught. In some cases, voluntary disclosure can result in civil resolution rather then criminal charges. That means paying back the money plus penalties, but avoiding prison and a felony conviction.

The catch is timing. Voluntary disclosure only works BEFORE your under investigation. Once you’ve recieved a subpoena, a target letter, or a visit from federal agents, its too late. At that point your not coming forward voluntarily—your responding to an investigation thats already underway. You’ve lost most of the strategic advantage.

So here’s the calculus you need to think through: How much time do you have on your statute? Are you towards the end of your exposure window where waiting might make sense? Or are you years away from your deadline, where early action could dramatically change your options? Theres no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your specific facts, your risk tolerance, and your circumstances.

The Clock Is Running—But Maybe Not When You Think

The answer to “when does the statute of limitations start for PPP fraud” isn’t as simple as most people want it to be. It depends on when you got the loan, when you used the funds, when you got forgiveness, and weather any continuing offense or conspiracy charges apply. It might be 2030, it might be 2031, it might be even later.

What you can do is figure out YOUR specific timeline based on YOUR specific facts. The steps in this article give you the framework. But unless your a lawyer yourself, you’d be wise to have someone who does this for a living double-check your calculations and help you understand what your options look like from here.

The goverment has untill at least 2030—and possibly 2031 or 2032—to charge most PPP fraud cases. We’re about halfway through that window. If your going to do something about your situation, now is better then later when options narrow and evidence fades.

Talk to a federal defense attorney. Understand your real timeline. Make informed decisions about your future while you still have time to make them.

The worst thing you can do right now is assume you know when your deadline is based off a simple calculation that doesn’t account for all the factors we’ve discussed in this article. The “whichever is later” rule, multiple overlapping statutes, the continuing offense doctrine, tolling provisions—all of these can extend your exposure window beyond what you might expect. Getting this wrong could mean the differance between breathing a premature sigh of relief and being caught completley off guard when federal agents finally come knocking.

Don’t wait untill 2029 or 2030 to figure this out. The time to understand your situation is now, while your options are still open and evidence is still available to support your defense if you need one. Your future self will thank you for being proactive rather then reactive about something this important.