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ProfileCompany or group

Harvest Small Business Finance

Lender or loan platform

PPP · PPPLF
Type
Company or group
Role
Lender or loan platform
Programs
PPP, PPPLF
Updated

The profile

Individuals and companies whose conduct was challenged or called into question during or after the pandemic. See sources: House fintech report, Dec. 1, 2022

  • Type: Nonbank SBA 7(a) and commercial real estate lender. Not a marketplace. Not a CDFI.
  • Legal entities: Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC (HSBF), the PPP lender of record and PPPLF borrower. Affiliated entity Harvest Commercial Capital, LLC (HCC), a separate LLC specializing in SBA 504 and conventional CRE securitizations, also majority-owned by a Medalist affiliate, launched February 2016. The two entities share Laguna Hills, CA headquarters, the same Medalist parent, and leadership (Adam Seery serves as COO on the HSBF PPP partnership release, and by 2026 as CEO of HCC). Their precise legal relationship to each other has not been confirmed through corporate filings.
  • Founded / affiliation: HSBF is majority-owned by an affiliate of Medalist Partners, LP, an SEC-registered investment manager (Business Wire releases, Medalist's AUM figures are in those releases).
  • HQ: Laguna Hills, California.
  • Leadership: Adam Seery, COO at the time of the April 2021 Womply partnership announcement; CEO of Harvest Commercial Capital by the February 2026 merger announcement. No named CEO of HSBF has been located in public filings.
  • Role in PPP: SBA-authorized lender of record for 408,173 PPP loans and servicer of 597,432, including 189,259 that Lendistry originated (SBA loan-level data). Became Womply's primary lender-of-record channel in the 2021 program rounds. The borrower funnel, the SBA guarantee, the processing fee, and the Federal Reserve liquidity facility all ran through HSBF.

In the archive

Role in pandemic relief

  • Reader shorthand: nonbank SBA lender of record and Womply's largest 2021 lender channel by volume.
  • What Harvest did for borrowers: funded small-dollar PPP loans under its own SBA authority, mostly in the 2021 rounds.
  • What Harvest bought from other companies: used Womply as a major borrower-intake and routing partner, while funding its book through the PPPLF and its own nonbank lending infrastructure.
  • Where responsibility sat: Harvest Small Business Finance held the SBA lender role and PPPLF borrower position; Womply supplied the front-end funnel for a large part of the 2021 surge.

Before the pandemic (pre-March 2020)

Harvest's pitch before COVID was direct: a nonbank lender for small-business borrowers who had been turned down by large, regional, and community banks. Its 2020 homepage advertised commercial real estate loans and described HSBF as "FASTEST GROWING NON-BANK SBA LENDER IN THE COUNTRY," stating the Medalist Partners affiliation with "approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management." SBA 7(a) approval gave it the authority to originate PPP loans from the first day the program was open.

During the pandemic (March 2020 – mid 2021)

Harvest's website timeline says calendar 2021 was its highest-volume year of SBA 7(a) lending to date, at $383.6 million. In the same year SBA's loan-level data list 402,965 PPP loans worth $6.94 billion with Harvest as the originating lender, about 18 times that 7(a) total.

Round one: 5,208 loans, reviewed by hand

PPP lenders were responsible for processing and underwriting the loans, and SBA paid them what its program rule called a "substantial processing fee" (House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis majority staff report, December 1, 2022). In an April 2022 briefing with the subcommittee's staff, Harvest's chief operating officer, Adam Seery, estimated that Harvest's review took about half an hour per loan and that Harvest funded about 5,200 loans that way in round one. SBA's data show 5,208 Harvest loans approved in 2020 for $1.25 billion; 1,587 loans above $150,000 made up $1.03 billion of it.

On April 16, 2020, the morning the program's first $349 billion was exhausted, Harvest wrote that it "was able to help hundreds of small business owners obtain approvals within the program." Harvest's homepage on May 6, 2020 carried this notice: "Harvest is no longer accepting Paycheck Protection Program applications at this time. We are working diligently to process current PPP applications that were submitted by 5 PM, April 28, 2020." No fintech partner is named on that page. SBA's data show Harvest approvals continuing through August 2020, with 59 that month.

Some of those borrowers file with the SEC. On April 23, 2020, Marin Software signed a $3,319,600 PPP loan agreement with Harvest. Stein Mart reported that on June 23, 2020 it agreed to a $10.0 million SBA loan from Harvest; it filed for Chapter 11 on August 12, 2020. SBA's data record $10,142,739.73 of forgiveness on that loan. Potbelly announced on April 25, 2020 that it was returning a $10.0 million PPP loan from JPMorgan Chase. On August 10, 2020 its subsidiary Potbelly Sandwich Works signed a $10,000,000 PPP loan agreement with Harvest; in July 2022 Potbelly reported that SBA had forgiven the entire principal and accrued interest, $10,190,958.

Round two: Womply did the first review, Harvest approved the loans

By January 26, 2021, a "HARVEST PPP PORTAL NOW OPEN!" headline on the Harvest homepage announced intake for three borrower categories: first-draw applicants, second-draw applicants who had Harvest loans in 2020, and second-draw applicants switching lenders from another institution. The page listed document requirements by category, a borrower-verification step before SBA submission, and a forgiveness resource library. Still no fintech partner was named on the page itself.

The publicly documented Womply connection comes from two sources. Womply's PPP Fast Lane FAQ, as archived on April 5, 2021, listed Harvest Small Business Finance among its partner and originating lenders alongside Cross River Bank, Fountainhead, Funding Circle, Lendio, and SmartBiz. Then on April 20, 2021, BusinessWire carried Womply's formal partnership announcement, quoting HSBF COO Adam Seery on the partnership and Womply CEO Toby Scammell on the number of small businesses the two companies aimed to help.

Womply screened the applications before Harvest saw them. The House Select Subcommittee's majority staff report says Womply "reviewed, processed, and referred 800,000 applications to Harvest," and that Harvest estimated it submitted 600,000 of them to SBA. Womply told subcommittee staff that its Fast Lane staff ran automated eligibility checks, verified borrowers' identities, analyzed bank and tax documents and used anti-fraud tools. The report says applicants who "passed Womply's pre-qualification reviews" went on to a partner lender. Harvest told the subcommittee that "Womply assured Harvest that it would only refer to Harvest complete applications that Womply's platform had confirmed were for eligible borrowers." A Harvest news post dated April 2, 2021 sent borrowers to Womply's Fast Lane portal to check their loan status, and to Womply's chat or email for other questions.

The CARES Act deemed approved lenders to have delegated authority "to make and approve covered loans." In evaluating a borrower's eligibility, the Act said, a lender had to consider whether the borrower was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees or paid independent contractors. SBA's first PPP rule, published April 15, 2020, listed what each lender had to do: confirm receipt of the borrower's certifications, confirm receipt of information showing that the borrower had employees on or around February 15, 2020, confirm average monthly payroll costs from the payroll documents, and follow Bank Secrecy Act requirements. Lenders "must comply with the applicable lender obligations set forth in this interim final rule, but will be held harmless for borrowers' failure to comply with program criteria," the rule said. Treasury's information sheet for lenders repeated the list and said lenders "are permitted to rely on borrower certifications and representations."

The House report quotes the SBA regulation that required Harvest, as an SBA lender, to "exercise[] day-to-day responsibility for evaluating, processing, closing, disbursing, servicing, liquidating, and litigating its SBA portfolio." It found that Harvest reviewed "a sample" of the loans it was submitting at first, stopped those manual spot-checks early, and did not perform any formal audits, assessments or evaluations of Womply.

An arbitration award in a dispute between Womply and Benworth, another 2021 Fast Lane lender, sets out how the work was divided under that lender's contracts. The arbitrator found that Womply's platform verified applicant information and produced reports "for lenders to review when making underwriting decisions," and that Womply "did not determine an applicant's eligibility for a loan." "Virtually all the information collected and verified by Womply's technology platform was uploaded into the Teslar Portal so that Benworth, as the lender, could access it during its good faith review and other underwriting activities," the award says. It also says: "The decision whether to underwrite a loan was always Benworth's and Benworth was always responsible for conducting a good faith review of a borrower's application." The award quotes their agreements: Benworth "assumes sole responsibility regarding whether or not any referral is or should be sent to the SBA for review." The award covers Benworth's contracts; Harvest's contract has no source document on this site.

In April 2021 SBA approved 286,772 loans with Harvest as the originating lender, more than in any other month. Of Harvest's 402,965 loans from 2021, 160,368 were for exactly $20,833, and 398,229 reported one job.

Harvest's 607,000-loan claim and SBA's data

Harvest's website timeline says that from January to July 2021 it "originates over 607,000 loans for approximately $10.6 billion, making Harvest the top PPP lender in the country by number of loans, and the 2nd largest lender by volume." Counted by originating lender, SBA's data put Harvest second for 2021 by number of loans, behind Prestamos CDFI, and third by dollars, behind JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Counted by servicing lender, Harvest ranks first for 2021, with 592,224 loans worth $10.31 billion, including 189,259 loans worth $3.38 billion that Lendistry originated. The company's figure is closer to that servicing count; the website does not say how it counted. SBA's own report on approvals through May 31, 2021 ranked Harvest fifth among 2021 lenders, with 429,098 loans and $7.44 billion.

Nearly $1.2 billion in 2021 receipts, over $350 million to owners

The majority staff report put Harvest's 2021 gross receipts at "nearly $1.2 billion," nearly 18 times its 2020 receipts, citing a letter Harvest sent the subcommittee. Between 2020 and 2021 Harvest's operating expenses rose $14 million. Harvest "paid over $350 million in distributions directly to its owners in 2021 alone," more than $225 million of it to its majority member, a private equity fund, and nearly $42 million to each of its three other members.

408,173 loans, about $8.19 billion

Project lender-fee table:

  • 408,173 PPP loans originated
  • about $8.19 billion in PPP volume
  • about $1,002.6 million estimated SBA processing fees
  • Average loan: about $20,057

The fee breakdown by round:

RoundEstimated fees
PPP 2020about $39.0 million
PPP 2021 (first and second draw)about $963.6 million
Totalabout $1,002.6 million

Roughly 96% of Harvest's estimated SBA processing fees came from the 2021 program (supply-chain table).

PPPLF peak of about $11.52 billion, roughly 141% of originations

In the Federal Reserve's PPPLF data, "HARVEST SMALL BUS FNC" appears with the following figures:

  • 120 advances
  • about $12.73 billion cumulative gross advances
  • about $11.52 billion peak outstanding (2021-07-13)
  • 0.35% interest rate

The peak-PPPLF-to-originated-volume ratio ($11.52 billion against $8.19 billion of originated loans) comes to roughly 141%. A PPPLF borrower could pledge loans purchased from other lenders, and gross advances can include re-borrowing or turnover across reporting periods. The ratio does not mean Harvest borrowed against loans that did not exist; it means Harvest's PPP business cannot be read from the origination line alone. Government-guaranteed PPP paper could be pledged to the Fed at 0.35%; PPP loans paid 1%; and SBA paid the processing fee on top.

The fee split is undocumented; Harvest approved Womply's own PPP loans

No public source documents the precise Harvest-to-Womply fee split in the way the Benworth agreements (which were introduced in arbitration) document that lender's arrangement. The Benworth tiered tech-fee structure (50% to 80% of SBA fees back to Womply, depending on loan volume) is documented in the Benworth case record. Whether Harvest's terms were similar has not been established from the public record. The House Select Subcommittee report cites two agreements between Womply and Harvest, both dated April 21, 2021: an Amended and Restated PPP Loan Referral Agreement and a Womply Developer Order Form. They are among the agreements behind its finding that Womply "often took at least half—and in some cases up to 90 percent—of all the taxpayer-funded fees allocated to lenders by SBA to compensate it for processing PPP loans." The report does not state Harvest's own terms.

Harvest approved Womply's own two PPP loans, $3,103,440 in April 2020 and $1,999,997 in February 2021. On September 1, 2022, SBA informed Harvest that both were denied forgiveness (House Select Subcommittee report); the SBA loan data are cited in the Womply profile.

A June 8, 2021 message from Lendistry's CEO to Womply CEO Toby Scammell and Harvest's Adam Seery flagged a "meaningful increase in the number of third-party and other inquiries related to fraud associated with applicants coming through Harvest." The message is quoted in the House Select Subcommittee's December 2022 report; any response from Harvest is not on the public record.

In borrower-fraud prosecutions Harvest was the lender, not the defendant

Harvest appears in the criminal case record as the lender through which fraudulent applications moved. No located case charges Harvest.

The E.D. Missouri cluster. Five indictments filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri between July 2024 and March 2025 — among them United States v. Katrina Taper & Tiara West, United States v. Velma Taper & Tiara West, United States v. Dortatius L. Hill, and United States v. Keesa Seaniya Lynn Green — describe PPP applications submitted through Harvest with fabricated IRS Schedule C forms producing loans of roughly $20,833 each, with Tiara West appearing as a co-conspirator across multiple cases (the indictments' portal language, income figures and filing dates are cited to the indictments).

The indictments (cited) do not name the Womply platform.

United States v. Shibley (W.D. Wash.). Eric Shibley was convicted at trial in 2021 on PPP and EIDL fraud counts (see his profile); the government's trial brief identifying Harvest Small Business Finance and Celtic Bank as the primary lenders used, and the sentencing positions, are in the case file.

A qui tam in which Harvest received a subpoena

The caption "Quesenberry v. Harvest Small Business Finance" is a mislabel.

The actual case is United States ex rel. Quesenberry v. SPE MB Atlantic Palms LLC et al., No. 1:25-cv-00337 (N.D. Ga., Judge Mark H. Cohen). The defendants are SPE MB Atlantic Palms LLC (a hotel entity), Rishi Patel, Mukesh C. Patel, and Ayesha Patel: PPP borrowers, not a lender. Harvest Small Business Finance appeared in this case in January 2026, when Quesenberry filed a notice of subpoena to Harvest as a third-party document custodian, shortly before the court stayed the case pending the Eleventh Circuit's decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates LLC (No. 24-13581), a constitutional challenge to the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions; the case was administratively closed on January 14, 2026.

Harvest was not a defendant in that case. It was a subpoena target for loan records related to the Patels' PPP applications. The case has not been resolved on the merits, and Harvest received no FCA claim in it.

After the pandemic (mid 2021 – present)

SBA investigations announced, December 2022

Following the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis December 1, 2022 fintech-PPP report, the SBA announced it had opened investigations into a list of lenders that included Harvest (SBA statement). The SBA simultaneously suspended Womply and Blueacorn. No SBA suspension of HSBF has been located. The December 2022 investigation announcement is the strongest SBA-side action against Harvest currently on the public record, and its resolution has not been publicly disclosed.

Securitizations

HSBF SBA 7(a) securitizations (Business Wire releases):

  • December 2023: fourth HSBF securitization ($115.7 million, rated by Kroll Bond Rating Agency)
  • December 2024: fifth HSBF securitization ($95.2 million, Harvest SBA Loan Trust 2024-1, rated by Morningstar DBRS; the second REMIC-structured SBA securitization)
  • October 2025: sixth HSBF securitization ($87.8 million, Harvest SBA Loan Trust 2025-1, rated by Morningstar DBRS; the third REMIC-structured SBA securitization)

HCC SBA 504 / CRE securitizations (Business Wire release):

  • February 2025: fourth HCC securitization ($264.6 million, HCCLT 2025-1, rated by DBRS, led by Mizuho Securities USA)

By the December 2024 HSBF release, Medalist Partners had approximately $1.8 billion in net assets under management. By the February 2026 HCC merger announcement, that figure was approximately $2.4 billion as of December 31, 2025.

The February 2026 Harvest Commercial Capital / Crossroads merger

On February 23, 2026, Harvest Commercial Capital, LLC announced a merger with Crossroads Impact Corp (CRSS) (Business Wire release, Feb. 23, 2026), describing HCC as majority-owned by a Medalist affiliate and identifying Adam Seery as CEO of HCC and Eric Donnelly as CEO of Crossroads.

The merger announcement names Harvest Commercial Capital (HCC), not Harvest Small Business Finance (HSBF); whether the transaction affects HSBF's legal standing, license or structure has not been confirmed through regulatory filings.

The merger connects the Harvest complex to the Blueacorn/Capital Plus side of the PPP lender-channel map: Crossroads Impact Corp. has owned Capital Plus Financial, Blueacorn's primary PPP lender of record, since December 2017, so Womply's largest lender partner and Blueacorn's main lender now sit under one parent.

Where Harvest doesn't appear

  • SBA December 2022 suspensions: Harvest was not suspended. Womply and Blueacorn were suspended; Harvest and other lenders were listed for investigation.
  • False Claims Act settlement or judgment against HSBF: none located.
  • DOJ criminal charges against Harvest or its officers: none located.
  • FTC enforcement action against Harvest: none located. The FTC's March 2024 PPP enforcement was against Biz2Credit/Itria and Womply.
  • Bankruptcy filings: none. HSBF and HCC remain operating entities.

Current posture (as of mid-2026)

HSBF continues as an active SBA 7(a) lender, majority-owned by an affiliate of Medalist Partners, LP. Harvest Commercial Capital announced a merger with Crossroads Impact Corp on February 23, 2026, and both entities continue to operate under their respective brands. The December 2022 SBA investigation has not been publicly resolved. No federal enforcement order against HSBF has been identified as of the date of this profile.

  • Benworth Capital Partners — Womply's second-largest Fast Lane partner; Federal Reserve PPPLF clawback suit; confidential settlement September 2025
  • Fountainhead — Womply Fast Lane partner; same House Select Subcommittee context
  • Capital Plus Financial / Crossroads Systems — Blueacorn's primary PPP lender; Crossroads is the February 2026 merger partner of HSBF's affiliate Harvest Commercial Capital (HCC)
  • Biz2Credit — the in-house version of the fintech-lender model; $33M FTC settlement; for structural comparison

Sources

Primary documents in this archive

External references

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