A series of crimes defined the COVID-19 pandemic — most of them having to do with gross government overreach. However, there was one scandal where it was the government that got duped.

And that scandal was called PPP loans.

The Paycheck Protection Program was meant to be a COVID relief initiative designed to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic, but the solution backfired horribly.

What happened?

$200 billion dollars vanished overnight when scammers saw an opportunity to game the system. The heist put even the Bernie Madoff case to shame.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

While you were just trying to keep your head above the water, twelve figures of your tax dollars were going “to jewelry, exotic cars, first class tickets, fancy restaurants, and trips to South Beach,” says BlazeTV's Alex Stein, who traveled across the country to learn how this widespread robbery was pulled off from experts like Peter Schiff, Representative Thomas Massie, and even a former FBI agent.

While scammers were treating the program “like their own personal piggy bank,” they certainly aren’t the only ones to blame. The government’s rules regarding the PPP were loose at best. It made the mistake of leaving the parameters up to the banks, which profited billions of dollars on the loans.

And because the government was footing the bill, reducing the credit risk to 0%, banks, thrilled with the guaranteed profit, were approving loans at unprecedented rates. From fake farms on the beach to globally known corporations, nobody was above or below receiving a PPP loan.

People were essentially just signing up for free cash — and they were doing it unabashedly.

“The program became a viral sensation. People posted Instagram pictures with PPP-financed luxury cars” and “fake LLCs popped up around the country,” says Stein.

But now, the government is cracking down on these fraudsters.

Former FBI agent Jeff Danik, who spent decades working on fraud cases in Miami’s FBI field office, says that these scammers can't hide for much longer.

“A tidal wave is coming,” he warns.

On Wednesday, September 4, “Scamdemic: How Fraudsters Cashed In On Billions” drops on BlazeTV for subscribers. Join the Pimp on a Blimp as he dives into the murky world of PPP loans to find our lost money. And of course, it wouldn't be a Primetime 99 special without an original rap track featuring Forgiato Blow.

If you're not already a subscriber, head over to blazetv.com and use promo code SCAMDEMIC for a seven-day free trial plus $30 off an annual subscription.