7 False Claims Act Enforcement Trends To Watch By
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What DOJ s 1st PPP Fraud Settlement Can Teach Borrowers By
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Primary area of interest
Thursday, February 4, 2021
The long-anticipated wave of civil enforcement actions involving participants in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has begun.
On 12 January 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the first civil settlement resolving fraud allegations against SlideBelts, Inc. (SlideBelts), a California e-retailer and manufacturer of fashion accessories, and its President and CEO, Brigham Taylor.
1 As we have discussed in prior alerts,
2 aggressive criminal and civil enforcement activity targeting PPP borrowers was a foregone conclusion given the minimal safeguards initially imposed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the speed with which lenders disbursed loan proceeds, and reports indicating that more than US$4 billion in PPP funds are likely attributable to fraud.
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On January 12, 2021, the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) settled its first civil action for alleged fraud against the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) – the primary lending program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act for small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of California brought civil claims under the False Claims Act (the “FCA”) and the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”) against a company and its CEO, alleging that they falsely claimed that the company was not in bankruptcy in order to qualify for a PPP loan. The FCA creates civil liability for a person who knowingly (including recklessly or with deliberate ignorance) defrauds a federally funded program by submitting false claims for money.[1] FIRREA allows the government to impose civil penalties for violation
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After bringing dozens of criminal charges against Paycheck Protection Program loan recipients in recent months, on January 12, the US Department of Justice announced its first civil settlement resolving allegations of PPP loan fraud. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, SlideBelts, an internet retail company and debtor in bankruptcy, and its president and CEO, Brigham Taylor, agreed to pay a combined $100,000 to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989. SlideBelts also repaid the $350,000 PPP loan that it received.