San Francisco (CA) — Three Bay Area companies have agreed to pay thousands of dollars to settle allegations they abused a payroll protection program during the pandemic.
La Baguette, a bakery in Palo Alto, agreed to pay $430,000. In Santa Clara, Dynamic Integrated Solutions Inc., an industrial equipment supplier, will pay $50,000 in civil penalties. Also paying $50,000 in advance acquisitions to a general contractor based in Castro Valley.
The three companies have duplicated PPPs. They got a loan, and then the loans were forgiven.
MORE: Cautionary tale for investors after Bay Area native Sam Bankman-Fried charged with fraud, conspiracy
Each is paying off the original loan amount.
No wrongdoing has been proven, but the companies have all agreed to settle the lawsuit. The whistleblower who raised the concerns is getting $80,000 as part of the settlements.
Congress enacted the Payroll Protection Program in March 2020 to provide loans to small businesses so they can continue to pay their employees when business is slow or stopped.
Today, the House Oversight Committee held its first public meeting on the covid-19 scam.
If you are on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
Copyright © 2023 KGO-TV. all rights reserved.