Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association, Inc. of Woodbridge paid $695,000 to settle False Claims Act allegations that it certified that it was eligible to receive a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia announced Monday.
The U.S. attorney’s office explained that PPP offered loans to eligible small businesses for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PPP borrowers were required to provide their income and supporting documents to qualify for the loan amount and for later loan forgiveness, the office noted.
According to the office, citing court documents, Lake Ridge is a 501(c) tax exempt entity and that such organizations were not eligible to receive funding through the PPP.
Additionally, Lake Ridge applied for a PPP loan and certified on its application that it was eligible to receive a loan under the rules in effect at the time the application was submitted, the office reported.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the settlement began with a lawsuit, United States ex rel. Wade Riner v Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association, Inc., that was filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act.
The provision permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery, the office said.
In this case, the whistleblower will receive $69,500.00 of the settlement, the U.S. attorney’s...
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