Law Brief: CARES Act Relief for Small Businesses
Williams Mullen's COVID-19 Comeback Plan: Preparing Today for Tomorrow's PPP Audit
Monthly Minute | Financial Relief for COVID-19
WEBINAR: Is the CARES Act Caring Enough?
Nota Bene Episode 84: Organizational Integrity in the Post-Pandemic Enforcement Environment
Nota Bene Episode 83: Fraud Enforcement and Policing COVID Relief: What Businesses Need to Know with Chuck Kreindler
COVID-19: The FFCRA & CARES Act--Update on Loan Programs, Tax Provisions & Employee Leave Provisions
Since its inception, the cannabis industry has always existed alongside significant regulatory and compliance challenges. These largely stem from the fact that the manufacture, distribution and possession of marijuana remains...more
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the form of forgivable loans to small...more
Four years ago this month, lenders began dispersing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses in what would become the largest Small Business Administration (SBA) lending program in history. The SBA approved...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement statistics for FY 2023 and identified key priorities for FCA enforcement in 2024 and beyond. The DOJ continues to pursue FCA...more
Fraud enforcement actions by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) continue to rise against companies and individuals related to their applications for and receipt of COVID-19 benefits. It appears that no type of...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on September 12, the first-ever False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender. Prosperity Bank, a Texas-based regional bank, agreed to pay...more
Nearly one year ago, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn, the Small Business Administration-backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided loans to help businesses keep their workforce...more
As we approach the one-year anniversary of passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, we are getting a better sense of how the government will address fraud arising out of this legislation....more
The US Department of Justice announced the first civil settlement involving allegations of fraud against a PPP borrower. SlideBelts Inc. received a PPP loan under the CARES Act. SlideBelts is an internet retail company and...more
On January 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a settlement with California-based SlideBelts, Inc. (SlideBelts) and its president and chief executive officer in what is advertised as the country’s...more
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020 and Congress responded with legislation to provide a variety of forms of relief to small and large businesses and nonprofits, as well as individuals....more
While the $525 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), enacted as part of the CARES Act, has undoubtedly helped millions of deserving businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also provided a unique opportunity for...more
At a September 10 press conference, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt announced that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division has reached 57 criminal prosecutions for fraud in connection with the...more
How much of the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) will end up in the hands of bad actors? With several hundreds of billions of dollars in the PPP bucket, fraud, misuse, and misdirection of funds is already being identified...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is scrutinizing borrowers who have applied for loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and...more
Congress has recently updated the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to stabilize the economy in response to the troubling economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenders should be aware that the federal government’s efforts...more
In our last article, we discussed how recipients of larger PPP loans are at risk for allegations of fraud and specifically addressed how these recipients may become targets of False Claims Act (FCA) allegations, which can be...more
Foreign National Charged With Fraudulently Applying for $20 Million in COVID-19 Loans - On May 21, 2020, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest of a foreign national for...more
In the past two weeks, the federal government has charged several individuals in Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud schemes. The allegations have ranged from applying for loans for non-operating businesses to using loan...more
The U.S. federal government is serious about its warning of stepped up scrutiny of borrowers seeking loans from the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic...more
Federal prosecutors are investigating possible fraud by applicants to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Bloomberg News and other outlets report. The program makes loans available to small businesses to cover certain...more
This is the first in a series of client alerts addressing the likely role of the False Claims Act in the wake of the massive federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 20, 2020, the Department of...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has filed the first criminal action for fraud in connection with PPP loans. Documents unsealed May 5 in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island accuse...more
Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), the federal government has passed an emergency stimulus package that will result in an unprecedented US$2 trillion infusion into the private and...more