Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced plans for a comprehensive fraud investigation spanning all 50 states during an appearance on a podcast released Wednesday.

Loeffler outlined what she described as a "state-by-state" crackdown on federal benefit fraud, though specific details about the scope and timeline of the investigations were not provided in the available reporting.

The administrator indicated that California and Minnesota have been identified as states with significant loan fraud issues, with Loeffler stating that "hundreds of millions of dollars" in fraudulent activity has been uncovered. She suggested that other states would be named in future announcements.

Loeffler also reported that the SBA has reduced its workforce by 54 percent, though the timeframe for these staff cuts and their relationship to the fraud investigations was not specified.

The announcement comes as federal agencies continue to grapple with fraud related to pandemic-era relief programs, including various loan and grant programs administered through the SBA. The extent and methodology of the planned investigations remain unclear based on the available information.