The owner of four Californian agricultural companies has agreed to settle allegations that he and his companies violated the False Claims Act, with the settlement amount totalling around $600,000.
The companies include Mendota Land Co., Sweetwood Farm Co. LLC, Sweetwood Farm Inc., and Seasholtz Co. LLC, collectively owned by John Seasholtz. The allegations against Mr Seasholtz are also related to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), with the accused allegedly knowingly submitting false information in support of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications.
Seasholtz is alleged to have improperly inflated the employee headcount on his companies’ PPP loan applications, primarily by illegally including non-employee contract workers who were actually employed by other entities unrelated to any of the four named companies.
The allegations state that the inclusion of such non-employees enabled Seasholtz to receive around $1.8 million in excess PPP funds. He has since repaid the excess PPP loan funds to the lender, which relieved the U.S. Small Business Administration of liability for the sum in loan guarantees.
The Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Brian M. Boynton, also Head of the Civil Division at the Department of Justice, said: “PPP...
WASHINGTON, D.C., DC, UNITED STATES, May 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Brown, LLC, a nationally recognized whistleblower law firm and leader in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation, today announced t...