The Trump administration is moving to claw back tens of millions of dollars in pandemic relief that went to celebrities, music artists, and entertainment industry elites.
The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that it has referred $34 million in outstanding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) debt to the Treasury Department, marking the first time the federal government has referred unresolved debt from the program to the Treasury for collection.
The move is part of a broader effort by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to recover pandemic-era funds that the agency says were improperly awarded or remain outstanding. 
“Under the Biden Administration, the SVOG program became one of the biggest cash-grabs of the pandemic,” Loeffler said in a statement first obtained by The Daily Wire. “For the last year, the Trump SBA has been working to recoup funds meant for struggling small arts and entertainment businesses that ended up lining the pockets of celebrities, music artists, and elite talent agents.”
“Today’s $34 million referral to the Treasury Department is only the first one,” she added, saying the agency will continue using “every lawful tool to claw back unmerited SVOG payments.”
The Treasury referral comes after recipients failed to resolve outstanding repayment obligations through the SBA’s debt-resolution process. The $34 million figure includes principal, applicable administrative costs, and accrued interest. The Biden administration never referred the outstanding SVOG debts to the Treasury for collection, according to the SBA.
The SVOG program was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide emergency assistance to live venue operators, promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives whose businesses were affected by pandemic-related shutdowns and revenue losses.
Congress authorized $16.25 billion for the program, with individual applicants eligible for grants of up to $10 million. 
But the program ultimately became a source of millions of dollars in federal aid for some of the entertainment industry&#8217;s wealthiest names. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lil-wayne-chris-brown-covid-relief-funds-svog-grant-2024-12">Business Insider</a> previously reported that musicians including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, and members of Alice in Chains received millions of dollars through the program.
Lil Wayne&#8217;s touring company received an $8.9 million grant. Records reviewed by Business Insider showed that more than $1.3 million was spent on private-jet flights and more than $460,000 on clothing and accessories, while nearly $88,000 was charged to taxpayers for a concert the rapper did not ultimately perform.
Chris Brown&#8217;s touring company received $10 million, with approximately $5.1 million going to Brown personally. His company also charged nearly $80,000 to the grant for his birthday party.
Marshmello received $9.9 million, while Steve Aoki&#8217;s touring company received millions more. Business Insider reported that Aoki&#8217;s company used approximately $1.9 million of its grant for officer pay.
The program&#8217;s rules allowed recipients to spend grant money on a broad range of authorized business expenses, including payroll and owner compensation. That meant wealthy artists could qualify through corporate entities connected to their touring operations even if they personally possessed substantial assets, provided their businesses met the program&#8217;s eligibility requirements.
The grants were intended to help keep struggling businesses in the live entertainment industry afloat during the pandemic, when venues and performances were shut down across the country.
Instead, critics have pointed to instances in which large sums flowed to already wealthy entertainers and their business managers.
The SBA now says it is attempting to recover money it determined was improperly awarded or remains subject to repayment.
The agency began issuing rescission and demand letters to SVOG recipients in June 2025. Those recipients were given opportunities to appeal the agency&#8217;s determinations or enter repayment agreements before the SBA pursued additional collection measures.
The agency says it has recovered more than $50 million through voluntary and involuntary payments since the Trump administration began its recovery effort.
The SBA said additional referrals could follow as it continues reviewing outstanding awards and resolving recipients&#8217; repayment obligations. The SBA&#8217;s Office of Inspector General identified approximately $544 million in potentially improper SVOG payments. It also found that 2,590 awards worth approximately $4.8 billion remained open more than a year after they were supposed to have been closed out.
A separate 2025 inspector general report found that 1,080 SVOG grants remained open as of May 2025, meaning the agency had not yet fully accounted for how the funds were used. Roughly two-thirds of those recipients had either failed to submit required audits or failed to respond to questions about their use of the funds.
The program&#8217;s problems began almost immediately after Congress authorized the grants.
In 2021, amid pressure from lawmakers to get money out to struggling entertainment businesses as quickly as possible, the Biden administration directed SBA personnel to “presume applicant assertions to be true” and expedited the review of applications under $500,000. As many as two-thirds of approved applicants were reportedly on the Treasury Department&#8217;s Do Not Pay List. The SBA says its current effort is intended to restore accountability and ensure that pandemic-relief programs do not become a permanent loss for taxpayers.

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EXCLUSIVE: A-Listers Got $34 Million In COVID Relief, The Trump Admin Is Trying To Get It Back

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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a> nabbed a new title — world’s richest female musician — now that her net worth is estimated to be $1.6 billion dollars, thanks to her sold-out shows from “The Eras Tour.&#8221;
The 34-year-old singer was named the top earner for female singers, surpassing the previous title holder Rihanna — whose net worth was reportedly $1.7 billion — but is now estimated to be <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/rihanna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.4 billion</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/taylor-swift/">Forbes</a> reported. A large portion of the “Diamonds” hitmaker’s success comes from her lingerie and cosmetics line, the outlet noted.
The “Shake It Off” hitmaker also jumped up in the Forbes list overall as the richest woman, going from 34th place last year to #24 this year, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/taylor-swift/">outlet</a> noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Forbes has updated Taylor Swift&#8217;s net worth to $1.6 billion, richest female musician in history. <a href="https://t.co/3BZiiHSFLZ">pic.twitter.com/3BZiiHSFLZ</a>
— Pop Base (@PopBase) <a href="https://twitter.com/PopBase/status/1842578937085653169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
The “Lover” singer reportedly has some $125 million in real estate holdings, with homes in New York City, Rhode Island, Nashville, and Los Angeles, the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/07/entertainment/taylor-swift-passes-rihanna-as-richest-female-musician-in-world-with-1-6-billion/">Post</a> noted.
A year ago, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-the-eras-tour-film-smashes-records-becomes-highest-grossing-concert-movie-ever">Swift</a> earned another new title — billionaire — after her net worth rocketed past the $1 billion mark, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-is-officially-a-billionaire-report">reported</a>. In October 2023, she became one of the few singers who managed to get into the billionaire club based on solely her music and performances.
The 53-stop concert series in the U.S., which launched in March of 2023, is estimated to have added $4.3 billion to the country’s gross domestic product, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-taylor-swift-net-worth-billionaire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.
“In addition to being a generational talent, Taylor Swift is a great economist,” Carolyn Sloane, a labor economist at the University of Chicago, said. “Taylor has great ideas, is able to scale her ideas and seems to be pretty risk-seeking.”
The report noted that Bloomberg’s analysis was based only on assets and earnings that could be confirmed or traced from publicly disclosed figures, taking into account the following: the estimated value of her music catalog and five homes, and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise.
Swift’s influence has also been felt in Hollywood after she decided to bypass movie studios by self-financing “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-the-eras-tour-film-holds-no-1-spot-at-box-office-surges-well-past-100-million">The Eras Tour</a>” concert film with $15 million in 2023.
The movie version of her concert led the box office, surging well past the <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28814949/?ref_=bo_se_r_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$250 million mark</a> globally. Her tour film is also the first independently released film in a decade to make that much, not adjusted for inflation, according to the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/killers-flower-moon-box-office-taylor-swift-eras-tour-1235624156/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hollywood Reporter</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reacts-to-taylor-swifts-kamala-endorsement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Reacts To Taylor Swift’s Kamala Endorsement</a>

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EXCLUSIVE: A-Listers Got $34 Million In COVID Relief, The Trump Admin Is Trying To Get It Back

Taylor Swift Nabs Title Of World’s Richest Female Musician