NEWNAN, Ga. — A Peachtree City company has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle allegations that it improperly obtained and received forgiveness for a Paycheck Protection Program loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal prosecutors announced.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Universal Environmental Service applied for a second-draw PPP loan in 2020.
Prosecutors said those loans were only available to small businesses with fewer than 300 employees, including employees of affiliated companies.
Federal investigators allege UES, a subsidiary of the German-based Avista Oil Group, reported having 287 employees on its loan application by counting only its U.S. workforce.
Prosecutors said the company’s entire corporate family employed well over 300 people, making it ineligible for the loan.
Based on the application, a bank approved an approximately $2 million PPP loan, which was later forgiven by the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to the Justice Department.
“When people provide false information to obtain government-backed loans, they break the law and misdirect resources away from those who need them,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
The investigation began after a whistleblower filed a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act.
As part of the settlement, the whistleblower will receive $312,000, and UES will also pay the whistleblower’s attorney fees.
The Justice Department said the settlement resolves allegations only. UES has not admitted liability, and there has been no determination of wrongdoing by the court.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Recall alert: Thyroid medication Levothyroxine recalled nationwide
- Waymo catches fire after car crashes into back of it
- Families of Apalachee school shooting victims want maximum sentence for Colt Gray
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]