Stolen identity SBA COVID loan Englewood New Jersey, Digi Mart USA News (Englewood, New Jersey): An Orthodox Jewish man from Englewood spent months trying to figure out why money was disappearing from his Social Security retirement checks. He eventually discovered that someone had stolen his identity and used it to obtain a $93,600 federal COVID-era business loan in his name.
Robert Lunzer never applied for the Small Business Administration loan and never received its proceeds. Nevertheless, repayments were being deducted from his monthly Social Security benefits for approximately a year.
After spending two weeks unsuccessfully trying to resolve the matter with the SBA, Lunzer contacted Representative Josh Gottheimer, whose office represents New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. The congressman’s staff contacted the SBA the following day, and the case was referred to the agency’s fraud unit.
The fraudulent application contained a name that was not his, a signature he said he never provided and an offshore bank account designated to receive the loan proceeds, according to information released by Gottheimer’s office.
Within a week, the SBA validated Lunzer’s identity theft claim, forgave the entire $93,600 debt, stopped the deductions from his Social Security benefits and returned approximately $4,500 that had already been taken.
Gottheimer highlighted the case as part of a broader announcement detailing how his constituent services office helped North Jersey residents recover more than $171,000 in delayed benefits, refunds and other financial claims. The cases included a retired Air Force officer whose pension payments were restored, a nurse who secured insurance approval for a specialized prosthetic, families who recovered delayed IRS refunds and a resident who received urgent immigration documentation to visit her hospitalized mother overseas.
According to Gottheimer’s office, it has recovered more than $173 million for constituents through its casework operation and resolved nearly 23,000 cases.
