ALEXANDRIA, Va. – CybeCys, Inc., a defense contractor located in Texas, and its Chief Executive Officer, Harish Vajja of Fairfax, agreed to pay more than $283,000 in civil penalties, damages, and restitution and have repaid the full amount of two pandemic-relief loans to resolve allegations that Vajja transferred funds from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to his individual investment account, where he used the funds to purchase cryptocurrency and other investments.
The PPP and the EIDL program offered loans to eligible small businesses for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP borrowers were required to certify that they would use the funds to retain workers and maintain payroll or for other permissible purposes. EIDL borrowers were required to certify that they would use the funds solely as working capital to alleviate the economic injury caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the allegations, Vajja, on behalf of CybeCys, applied for a $954,446 PPP loan and an $80,700 EIDL loan. After CybeCys received the $954,446 PPP loan, Vajja transferred PPP funds to his individual investment account, where he allegedly purchased securities, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrency, while CybeCys used other corporate funds to maintain payroll. Vajja also allegedly directed EIDL funds issued to CybeCys to be deposited into his personal bank account, after which he allegedly...
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