What evidence do you need to report PPP fraud?

Less than you probably think.

One of the most common reasons former employees hesitate to report suspected PPP fraud is the belief that they need a smoking-gun document — an internal memo, an email from the owner, a whistleblower tape. You don't. Qui tam cases are built on patterns of evidence, much of which is already in your possession or in the public record. What you need is enough to demonstrate that your claim is plausible and that the facts can be investigated further. The Department of Justice and federal investigators have subpoena power that you do not. Your job is not to prove the case. Your job is to give the government a credible factual starting point.

This article is a practical inventory of the evidence categories that matter in a PPP layoff case. You will likely have some of these items already. Others you can obtain easily. A few are in the public record. You do not need every category — most successful qui tam cases are built on a subset.

Your own employment records.

If you did not keep copies of pay stubs, you can often retrieve them through your employer's online payroll system if you still have login credentials, or by requesting records directly from the payroll provider (ADP, Paychex, Gusto, and similar services maintain former-employee records for years). W-2s can be obtained from the IRS if you do not have your own copy, though the turnaround is several weeks.

PPP loan records from public sources.

Because PPP loan data is public record, you do not need to obtain this from the employer. The SBA's public database and the ProPublica and Washington Post versions of it provide everything you need to establish the loan existed. What matters for an evidence file:

For step-by-step instructions on retrieving this information, see our separate article on how to check if your former employer received a PPP loan.

Your own written account.

Memory fades. Among the most valuable pieces of evidence in any qui tam investigation is a contemporaneous written account from someone who witnessed the relevant events. The sooner you write down what you remember, the more accurate the account will be.

What to include:

• Employment history. When you were hired, what your role was, how many hours you typically worked, what your wage or salary was.
• The pandemic period at the company. When operations changed, who was still working, what the workforce looked like at key dates.
• Circumstances of your separation. When you were told, who told you, what reason was given, whether the reason matched what you observed.
• Other separations you observed. Names and approximate dates of other employees who were let go, had their hours cut, or were furloughed. Even approximate information is useful.
• What the owner or management said about PPP. Any statements you remember — formal or informal — about the loan, the forgiveness application, or how the money was being used.
• Anything unusual you noticed about business operations. Changes in inventory, equipment, vehicles, owner's personal spending, or the company's activities that seemed inconsistent with financial distress.

Write in plain language, as if you were telling a friend what happened. Be honest about what you know, what you observed, and what you are uncertain about. Do not speculate; an account that distinguishes between what you saw and what you inferred is more credible than one that treats both as equivalent.

Communications you have a right to keep.

If you have emails, text messages, or other communications with the employer from the pandemic period — including communications about your layoff, about the business's finances, or about PPP — those are evidence. You have a right to the communications you sent or received as part of your employment, though there are limits to what you can take.

Text messages from personal phones belong to you; you can preserve them. Emails from a personal email account belong to you. Emails from the employer's email account are more complicated and require legal judgment on a document-by-document basis. When in doubt, preserve nothing without attorney guidance.

Names of people who would know.

You do not need to contact other witnesses. In fact, you should not. But knowing who else might have relevant information is itself valuable evidence. Federal investigators have subpoena power; they can reach out to other former employees, former accountants, former payroll coordinators, and others who might know what happened. Your role is to identify the people, not to interview them.

A list that includes:

• Other employees who were laid off around the same time
• Employees whose hours or wages were cut
• The business's bookkeeper, office manager, or payroll coordinator if known
• Anyone who might have been present when PPP was discussed
• Former managers or supervisors, if they were honest about what was happening

Names, approximate dates of employment, and any contact information you remember are sufficient. Do not cold-call these people to "warn them" or "compare notes." That can contaminate the investigation and creates problems for your attorney. Let the government do the outreach once the case is under seal.

What you do not need.

A few categories of evidence that people commonly think they need, but don't:

The PPP application itself

You do not need to obtain a copy of the employer's PPP loan application or forgiveness application. The government, through its own access to SBA records, can obtain both. The forgiveness application in particular is where the most common PPP frauds occur, and the government can subpoena the full document from the lender or the SBA.

The employer's financial records

You do not need bank statements, tax returns, or internal financial records from the employer. Attempting to obtain these without authorization is how qui tam cases fall apart. The government will subpoena them during its investigation.

A signed affidavit from another witness

You are not a prosecutor and you are not supposed to be building the case yourself. Your job is to provide the tip and your first-hand knowledge. Federal investigators will handle corroboration.

A complete legal theory

You do not need to understand every element of the False Claims Act or every nuance of PPP program rules. Your attorney handles the legal framework. You handle the facts.

How to organize what you have.

Before your first consultation with a qui tam attorney, spend an hour organizing your materials. A simple file folder — digital or physical — with the following subfolders is enough:

You do not need to be complete. You do not need to be perfect. You need to be organized enough that you can walk the attorney through what you know in a 30-minute call. The attorney can tell you within that call whether the facts support a viable qui tam case — and if they do, what additional evidence might help and how to gather it legally.

The most important thing to bring to the first consultation is honesty about what you know and what you don't know. Qui tam cases rise and fall on the credibility of the relator. A relator who is candid about the limits of their knowledge is far more valuable than one who overstates what they saw.