The U.S. government pulled out many stops to help struggling businesses during the pandemic, with plentiful grants and loans made swiftly available in the form of paycheck protection programs and other initiatives designed to keep businesses afloat during the shutdown — and to put income into the pockets of Americans. Programs included sending checks directly to citizens to help make ends meet.
But the speed of the government actions taken and the necessity of lax oversight to create the least friction between available funds and those in need resulted in legal loopholes that many individuals and companies took advantage of.
In a new expose, Business Insider reveals how some money from the U.S. Treasury ended up in the accounts of some very famous (and profligate) hip hop stars and rock musicians, and how that federal relief money was spent.
The reporting namechecks Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and the members of Alice in Chains — to name just a few — as recipients of 7-figure grants through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, aimed at providing relief for musicians, organizations and venues that were off-limits during the pandemic.
[NOTE: Business Insider does not say any of the actions described were technically illegal given the letter of the law, but the story does quote a former comptroller of the United States, David Walker, saying “whether it’s legal or not is up to a lawyer or ultimately to a court. But it sure smells.”
The Shuttered Venue program was supported and championed by Republicans and Democrats including then-President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who kept promoting it well into 2022.
A key finding in the Business Insider story is an unexplained change in grant eligibility reportedly made by the Small Business Administration in 2021 that allowed artists’ loan-out companies, through which many of the questionable large grants at issue flowed, to receive funds.
The eligibility change, for which the SBA gave no explanation to the reporters, “cleared the way for federal funding to flow to wealthy artists.”
On the brighter side, more than 13,000 arts organizations like theater companies and small concert spaces received grants from the program, helping many of them survive an otherwise fatal situation.
Those saving scenarios — embodying the intent of the program — stand in contrast to what Business Insider reports about Chris Brown when it writes that of the “$10 million grant Brown’s company CBE Touring received, $5.1 million went to Brown personally. He also billed taxpayers nearly $80,000 for his 33rd birthday party.”
