Shannon T. Hanson Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware | U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware
Nikon SLM Solutions NA, Inc. has agreed to pay $1.37 million to settle allegations that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace of the District of Delaware.
The PPP was created in March 2020 under the CARES Act to help small businesses continue paying employees and cover other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility for these loans depended on several factors, including the total number of employees across domestic and foreign affiliates. In early 2021, Congress introduced a second round of PPP loans with stricter eligibility requirements for businesses that had already received initial funding.
SLM is a subsidiary of a global metal additive manufacturing company based in Lübeck, Germany. The U.S. government alleges that SLM received a second draw PPP loan despite having more than 300 employees when counting its foreign affiliates, making it ineligible under program rules. Following the conduct under investigation, SLM’s parent company was acquired by Nikon Corporation.
“PPP was established to provide necessary support for American small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Wallace. “When larger, international companies sought and obtained those loans, they frustrated the purpose of the program and deprived qualifying small businesses of much needed funds to keep American workers employed. Our office will continue to investigate and aggressively seek to recover funds that were obtained from the Paycheck Protection Program by ineligible borrowers.”
The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions, which allow private individuals—known as relators—to file actions on behalf of the United States and receive part of any recovery. In this case, United States ex rel. Verity Investigations, LLC v. Nikon SLM Solutions NA, Inc., 25-cv-103-CFC (D. Del.), the relator will receive a share of the settlement.
Civil Chief Dylan J. Steinberg handled this matter.
Anyone with information about potential fraud involving COVID-19 relief programs is encouraged to contact the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud via hotline or web complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The government notes that these are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
A copy of this press release and related documents can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.
