SOUTHBORO, MASS. (WHDH) – It was meant to provide some financial cushion for Josh Abrams’ family, but his attempt to cash in on a savings bond became a months-long battle.
Instead of receiving the $11,000 he was owed, the government kept it.
“I was very shocked,” Abrams recalled.
The government sent him a letter in August informing him that the bond money would be used to pay down debt from a paycheck protection loan taken out in his name in 2021.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was set up during the pandemic to help struggling small businesses.
“They are saying to me you’ve got this debt,” Abrams explained.
The problem is Abrams said he never took out the loan.
“I do not work for myself. I don’t own my own business. I never even approached a PPP loan and here to find one in my name was disturbing,” he said.
Government records show a nearly $21,000 loan was taken out in Abrams’ name in 2021 for a Southborough construction business. Abrams doesn’t work in construction and doesn’t live in Southborough.
“I was quickly told I was a victim of identity theft and was given instructions on what to do,” Abrams said.
He reported the theft to the Small Business Administration (SBA) which distributed PPP loans and contracted the local police.
“The whole thing is kind of wild. I haven’t thought of PPP loans in a long time. We are a few years past COVID at this point. It’s startling to find out this one has been sitting around for a while unbeknownst to me,” Abrams said.
Five months later, his name hasn’t been cleared from the loan and he hasn’t gotten his bond money back.
Abrams was counting on the bond money to help pay for his son’s first semester of college.
“Tuition, living on campus—it gets expensive,” he said. “Being able to get that money back would certainly settle things down quite a bit.”
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts SBA office told 7 Investigates the agency is “looking into the matter” but denied…