Four California agricultural companies and their owner have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle allegations of submitting false information in support of Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, according to the Justice Department Monday.

Mendota Land Co., Sweetwood Farm Co. LLC, Sweetwood Farm Inc., Seasholtz Co. LLC, and owner John Seasholtz allegedly violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, DOJ said.

They improperly inflated the employee headcount on the companies’ PPP loan applications by including non-employee contract workers employed by unrelated entities, the department alleged.

The defendants allegedly received around $1.8 million in excess ...

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