On January 17, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that skilled nursing facilities chain Unified Care Services LLC (Unified Care), its affiliates and its owner agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by defrauding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The case stems from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the FCA’s qui tam provisions. The whistleblower is set to receive $2 million as their share of the recovery.
According to the DOJ, “Unified Care and its affiliates falsely certified they were small business with fewer than 500 employees when they submitted their PPP loan and loan forgiveness applications in 2020.”
“PPP loans were intended to assist eligible small businesses during the pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When ineligible businesses improperly obtained loans, they harmed both the taxpayers who funded the program and the eligible businesses who were denied relief.”
“COVID-relief programs were designed to help people and businesses during the worst public health crisis this nation had seen in one century,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to pursue those who knowingly cheat taxpayers by violating PPP and other pandemic-related programs.”
The False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions enable private citizens and private parties to file lawsuits on...
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