As a result of a whistleblower’s lawsuit, two Orlando resort companies must pay back $325,000 for providing false information on their application for COVID-19 relief aid forgiveness, according to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The pair of resorts, Kingwood Orlando Reunion Resort LLC and Kingwood Crystal River Resort Corp., are related but operate separate resorts. They each received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans after they conspired to defraud the federal government and pocket the money, the settlement said.
Crystal River falsely claimed it had used a portion of its PPP loan to pay 22 of its employees who had supposedly earned $4,224. However, these employees actually worked for Orlando Reunion.
The companies have until early May to pay $271,720 in damages and penalties and another $53,280 in civil penalties. The whistleblower who filed the lawsuit will get $46,000 in connection with the settlement.
PPP was created in March of 2020 under the larger CARES Act to help small businesses make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. To receive forgiveness for loans, businesses had to certify the money was used on eligible expenses, like payroll.
“A primary mission of the United States Attorney’s Office is protecting government programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to hold accountable those who abuse the CARES Act and PPP Program at the expense of the taxpayers.”
“This settlement...
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