Are You A PPP Loan Fraud Whistleblower?

If so, Brown, LLC is on your side. Federal laws prevent retaliation against the people who tell the truth and blow the whistle on companies or organizations who have defrauded the PPP administered by the SMA (Small Business Administration). And, there are certain statutes that also ensure monetary rewards for telling the government about the wrongdoers. Under the FCA (False Claims Act), for example, the government might offer a reward to a PPP whistleblower with up to 30% of the fund recovered once the case proceeds successfully.

The PPP was formed to aid small ventures or businesses to keep them employed during the pandemic, ensuring them bank-mediated SBA-funded loans that might be excused later. There are some unprincipled businesses that have applied for Paycheck protection program loans even though they never qualified for it, often by showing false certificates in their forged applications, miscounting employees, hiding their actual corporate structure, and misrepresenting ownerships. The Small Business Administration scheme is not designed for large-scale corporations, yet certain employers have drained their capital which is urgently required by true small businesses.

If you have been aware of a PPP fraud and wish to be vocal about it, there are laws to guide you through until you win your case.

The FCA makes it prohibited to apply for Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program funds under false pretenses, for example, by misstating the recipient's employee numbers, or the intended use of the federal fund. The law is to provide financial incentives for the whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing or misconduct by filing a lawsuit on taxpayers’ behalf. This qui tam provision enables triumphing whistleblowers to receive up to 30% of the fund returned to the U.S. Treasury.

If the whistleblower is terminated for reporting fraud on the SBA-PPP loan or faces any sort of retaliation, the False Claims Act needs that the damage is reversed entirely. Winning plaintiffs might be given their jobs back – and might also be offered damages including attorney fees, double pack-pay, and payment for emotional stress.

As with every other legal claim, deadlines are brutal, hence crucial. If you have received any punishment for objecting to your employer’s misuse of PPP funds, or confronting your employer for initiating a false application to the Small Business Administration, you should file a retaliation claim under the False Claims Act within 3 years. The restriction statutes for the underlying fraud usually are 6 years under FCA or ten years in certain situations.

We at Brown, LLC recommend consulting with our attorneys. In each consultation, you will receive:

• Sympathetic ear
• A profound understanding of the law
• A stern consideration of the facts
• A clear-eyed evaluation of your claims

Allow Brown, LLC’s hands-on experience in handling and representing many PPP loan fraud cases ever since it was launched and effective to guide you. Our PPP loan fraud attorneys have helped many employees, who had faced demotion, termination, or pay cuts for reporting on their employers. Call us or meet with us: our team is always ready to hear your story out with all the patience and knowledge in this industry.