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FACT BRIEF

Did Wisconsin congressional candidate Tony Wied fail to repay a $300,000 taxpayer-funded loan?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

A $342,000 federal loan given to Wied Oil Co., then owned by Tony Wied, was forgiven. It did not have to be repaid.

Wied is running for the Republican nomination for the Green Bay, Wisconsin-area U.S. House of Representatives seat vacated by Republican Mike Gallagher, who retired.

The Paycheck Protection Program loan, used for payroll for the Green Bay company’s convenience store gas stations, was made in April 2020 and forgiven in January 2021.

Nearly all PPP loans, offered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, were forgiven if used for payroll.

An ad posted July 8, 2024, by Speak Free or Die PAC claimed that Wied “took a $300,000 taxpayer-funded loan and never paid it back.”

The political action committee supports Roger Roth, another Republican running for the seat, and is funded by Uline company president Liz Uihlein.

Also running are Republican state Sen. André Jacque and Democrat Kristin Lyerly.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
ProPublica Wied Oil PPP loan
ProPublica Wied loan payroll
Pandemic Oversight Wied loan forgiven
Pandemic Oversight Update: 10.5 million PPP loans were forgiven. Here's why.
Speak Free or Die PAC Something Stinks in Wisconsin
Federal Election Commission Speak Free or Die PAC - committee overview
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.