ALBANY, NEW YORK – The Rensselaerville Institute (TRI), a not-for-profit corporation located in Albany, New York, has agreed to pay the United States $86,676 in damages and civil penalties to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining an inflated Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. TRI also agreed to repay its lender $86,676, thereby relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of the overstated portion of its loan, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman.
United States Attorney Freedman stated: “Paycheck Protection Program loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses so that they could retain employees and continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to use all available tools, including the False Claims Act, against companies that overstated eligibility for these taxpayer-funded loans.”
The PPP was established pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, in March 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to small businesses suffering economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP loan applications were processed by participating lenders, which received a processing fee from the SBA. If a loan application was approved, the participating lender funded the loan, which was fully guaranteed by the SBA.
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