12-03-2025
Pinellas veteran let off the hook from fraudulent SBA loan after 7-month fight
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A veteran in Pinellas County got some answers after he ended up on the hook for a federal Small Business Administration loan he never applied for nor received.
Joseph Carpenter called for help in August after the SBA sent him a letter claiming he owed $20,833.
The letter warned him that if he didn't pay by September, the Treasury Department would start taking up to 15% of his Social Security payments.
Consumer Reporter Shannon Behnken was able to help him get the government to agree to keep their hands off his Social Security while they investigate his fraud claim, but the loan issue was still unresolved.
Well, not anymore. Carpenter has now received a letter from the SBA acknowledging this was identity theft and clearing him from the debt.
'You got to the SBA in Tampa, which I couldn't even get ahold of anybody over there,' he said. 'No matter what you all you get is a recording.'
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