For Civil Enforcement, the Pandemic Is Just Beginning
There have been many criminal prosecutions of COVID-related fraud—the DOJ recently announced that the Fraud Section has criminally charged at least 120 defendants to date in fraud cases involving the PPP—but those often alleged egregious misconduct. Two new end-of-year settlements go beyond such incidents of egregious wrongdoing, however, and shed greater light on how the government might pursue civil enforcement for companies whose behavior was grey, sloppy, or pushed boundaries, which William Harrington, Annie Railton and Melissa Brumer discuss in this Federal Civil Enforcement column.
April 01, 2021 at 12:45 PM
8 minute read
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses worried about how to avoid running afoul of government scrutiny, especially as regulators warned businesses that they would look carefully at economic misdeeds. There have been many criminal prosecutions of COVID-related fraud—on March 26, 2021, the DOJ announced that the Fraud Section has criminally charged at least 120 defendants to date in fraud cases involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (among hundreds of other criminal cases)—but those often alleged egregious misconduct, such as obtaining loans for nonexistent businesses and spending loan proceeds on luxury goods.
Two new end-of-year settlements go beyond such incidents of egregious wrongdoing, however, and shed greater light on how the government might pursue civil enforcement for companies whose behavior was grey, sloppy, or pushed boundaries.
|CARES Act Funds-Related Enforcement
On Jan. 12, 2021, the DOJ entered into the first civil settlement involving alleged PPP loan fraud. The DOJ alleged that SlideBelts, and its president and CEO Brigham Taylor, made multiple loan applications and ultimately received a $350,000 PPP loan, but failed to disclose that the company had declared bankruptcy—a required disclosure in the loan applications and a bar to receiving a PPP loan—until after receiving the loan distribution. The DOJ contended that the company's misrepresentations about its involvement in bankruptcy proceedings constituted knowing false statements and caused false claims for payment to be made to the SBA, in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA). In response to government demands, SlideBelts ultimately returned the loan to the lender several months after receiving it. Nonetheless, the company and its CEO agreed to pay $100,000 to settle the claims.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Trump Picks Personal Criminal Defense Lawyers for Solicitor General, Deputy Attorney General
SEC Under Trump 2.0 Likely to Take More 'Measured' Enforcement Approach, Observers Say
Decision of the Day: Attorney in Social Security Case Awarded Fees, But Must Pay Client Refund Under Equal Access to Justice Act
Trending Stories
- 1Elon Musk Names Microsoft, Calif. AG to Amended OpenAI Suit
- 2Trump’s Plan to Purge Democracy
- 3Baltimore City Govt., After Winning Opioid Jury Trial, Preparing to Demand an Additional $11B for Abatement Costs
- 4X Joins Legal Attack on California's New Deepfakes Law
- 5Monsanto Wins Latest Philadelphia Roundup Trial
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
