Latest news with #SmallBusinessAdministration
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Education Department pausing plan to garnish Social Security checks over defaulted loans
The Department of Education has not gone through with a plan to garnish Social Security checks over defaulted loans, a department spokesperson told The Hill. 'The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets,' Ellen Keast, the spokesperson, said. The department announced in April that student loan borrowers in default, or people who have not paid their loans for more than 270 days, had the chance of seeing financial consequences including stopped federal payments like Social Security and garnished wages. The changes could have impacted the lives of over 5 million borrowers. 'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting social security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income,' Keast said. 'In the coming weeks, the Department will begin proactive outreach to recipients about affordable loan repayment options and help them back into good standing.' In March, President Trump said that he was 'immediately' moving the handling of federal student loans from the Department of Education to the Small Business Administration (SBA). 'I've decided that the SBA, the Small Business Administration, headed by Kelly Loeffler … will handle all of the student loan portfolio,' Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office at the time, saying it was a 'pretty complicated deal, and that's coming out of the Department of Education immediately.' 'And also, Bobby Kennedy, with the Health and Human Services Department, will be handling special needs and all the nutrition programs and everything else,' he continued. 'I think that will work out very well. Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
a day ago
- Business
- The Hill
Education Department pausing plan to garnish Social Security checks over defaulted loans
The Department of Education has not gone through with a plan to garnish Social Security checks over defaulted loans, a department spokesperson told The Hill. 'The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets,' Ellen Keast, the spokesperson, said. The department announced in April that student loan borrowers in default, or people who have not paid their loans for more than 270 days, had the chance of seeing financial consequences including stopped federal payments like Social Security and garnished wages. The changes could have impacted the lives of over 5 million borrowers. 'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting social security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income,' Keast said. 'In the coming weeks, the Department will begin proactive outreach to recipients about affordable loan repayment options and help them back into good standing.' In March, President Trump said that he was 'immediately' moving the handling of federal student loans from the Department of Education to the Small Business Administration (SBA). 'I've decided that the SBA, the Small Business Administration, headed by Kelly Loeffler … will handle all of the student loan portfolio,' Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office at the time, saying it was a 'pretty complicated deal, and that's coming out of the Department of Education immediately.' 'And also, Bobby Kennedy, with the Health and Human Services Department, will be handling special needs and all the nutrition programs and everything else,' he continued. 'I think that will work out very well. Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Neighbors, former coworker reacts to death of Lenoir man killed in Catawba County mass shooting
LENOIR, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – We are learning more about the man who died in the Catawba County mass shooting from neighbors and a past coworker. Shawn Hood was killed when someone opened fire at a house party in Catawba County, while 11 other people were injured. On Hood's driveway Monday, we found a project he was finishing up. Several neighbors we spoke with said he kept to himself. One neighbor we spoke with did not wish to be identified. MORE | 'He tried to do some work there by himself and he just had some other friends from the outside come over and say hi or hang out with him,' the neighbor said. 'That was about it.' The neighbor said at one point Hood lived in a home on Idlewood St. in Lenoir with his wife and son, but the couple later divorced. Other neighbors we spoke with didn't even know that Hood died this weekend. No neighbor seemed to know why he was at that party. MORE | 'I can't believe it,' the neighbor said. 'What was the 58-year-old doing with a bunch of teenagers? I don't know.' A former coworker we spoke with said during COVID they worked from home, reviewing loans for the Small Business Administration. When their contracts ended last year, she said they did loan reviews for small businesses following Hurricane Helene through a nonprofit. She adds that Hood played baseball and gave lessons in the community – and that he was a nice guy who did not deserve to be murdered. 'It has nothing to do with gun violence,' the neighbor said. 'It had to do with a vengeance attitude. Stupid kid with guns. The guns didn't kill the people, the people killed the people.' Authorities are offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to any arrests. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
More lanes of I-80 reopen in New Jersey after sinkhole repair
WHARTON, N.J. (PIX11) — Welcome news for drivers who rely on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, two westbound lanes of the highway reopened on Friday night after parts of it closed for emergency sinkhole repairs in March. Repair crews have been and are continuing to work 24 hours a day to get the I-80 back up and running again however state officials say its been a pricey project, costing around $150,000 per day. More Local News To call this a headache for drivers would be an understatement, with some saying it has turned commuting into a nightmare. People have been stuck in traffic for hours getting to and from work since the I-80 was closed for repairs nearly two months ago. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Small businesses in the area have also had it rough with many owners telling PIX11 News that the severely reduced traffic hurt their bottom lines worse than the COVID pandemic. The Small Business Administration has recently announced $2 million in relief funds for those impacted, but there is still a way to go before the I-80 is 100% back up and running. All lanes are set to be fully reopened on June 25 but until then, the speed limit has been reduced to 40 or 45 miles per hour in the construction zone. The state's Department of Transportation has also set up a section of their website dedicated to tracking repairs and updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Criminal ring with SoCal ties swindled $25 million in COVID relief, small business loans, feds say
Fourteen people have been arrested on suspicion of engaging in a years-long scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $25 million in COVID-19 relief funds and government-backed small business loans. During the arrests Wednesday, law enforcement seized about $20,000 in cash, two money-counting machines, paper cash bands, multiple cellphones, laptops, two loaded semi-automatic 9 mm handguns and boxes of ammunition, authorities said. "This transnational criminal network sought to defraud the government of millions of dollars and almost succeeded," Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco said in a statement. The agency "is continuing to identify these criminal groups looking to profit from the pandemic and will use all available resources to criminally prosecute or remove them from the country," he added. A total of 18 people have been charged with felonies in connection with the alleged scheme — including conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims; making false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims; wire fraud and attempted wire fraud; bank fraud and attempted bank fraud; money laundering conspiracy, laundering of monetary instruments, engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, according to federal prosecutors. Four of the 18 people charged have not yet been arrested and are believed to be in Armenia, prosecutors said. Prosecutors allege Vahe Margaryan, 42, of Tujunga, orchestrated the scheme to defraud banks and the Small Business Administration's Preferred Lender Program by directing the owners of sham corporations to open bank accounts and create phony documents to support loan applications to buy other sham corporations. The scheme allegedly began before the pandemic in 2018 and lasted until January, authorities said. Read more: U.S. border agent is charged in COVID-19 business loan fraud scheme, authorities say In probable cause statements filed in federal court, investigators wrote that the defendants laundered the money through multiple bank accounts and ultimately used the cash for personal expenses. In one instance, prosecutors allege Margaryan — who also went by the name William McGrayan — told a person identified only as F.N. that he had started a businesses called Music E Solutions for the man to sell guitar lessons online. In May 2019, Margaryan suggested the company's name be changed to Mobile Auto Repair, Inc., and directed F.N. to open bank accounts for the businesses, with F.N. as the sole signatory. F.N. told investigators he thought this was suspicious and questioned whether it was legal. Margaryan assured him it was "necessary to help qualify for loans and that it was legal," investigators wrote in a probable cause statement. F.N. told authorities they had no intention of operating a car repair business. Authorities say Margaryan directed F.N. to deposit checks into the company's account and then move them to other accounts and seek out bank loans, as well as paycheck protection loans and economic injury disaster loans during the pandemic. Read more: 5 arrested for collecting thousands in fraudulent FEMA claims from Palisades, Eaton fires F.N. described Margaryan's actions as "scary" and "unhinged," a federal agent wrote in the probable cause statement. "F.N. became increasingly afraid of [Margaryan] as [Margaryan's] tone became more belligerent when F.N. questioned [Margaryan] about whether what they were doing was legal," the agent wrote. Also charged in the scheme were Sarkis Sarkisyan, Aksel Markaryan, Ashot Bejanyan, Jack Aydinian, Taron Musayelyan, Hovannes Hovannisyan, Mery Babayan, Anahit Sahakyan, Felix Parker, Rudik Yengibaryan, Yohan Vachyan, Khachatur Nikoghosyan and Boris Sahakyan, court records show. The four other defendants believed to be overseas have not been publicly named. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
