Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
ALICE + OLIVIA, LLC has agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations that it improperly received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan by falsely certifying its eligibility. The settlement was announced by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge of the Eastern Regional Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General.
The PPP was established to support small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021, businesses applying for a second PPP loan could have no more than 300 employees, including those employed by domestic and foreign affiliates.
According to authorities, ALICE + OLIVIA exceeded this employee limit but stated in its January 2021 application that it had only 293 employees. The company also certified that all information provided was true and accurate. When applying for forgiveness of the $2 million loan in February 2022, ALICE + OLIVIA claimed it had just 271 employees at the time of its application.
Under the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, ALICE + OLIVIA admitted and accepted responsibility for the conduct described in the government’s complaint.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “The Paycheck Protection Program was established to help businesses weather the extraordinary economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by offering forgivable loans. But too many applicants sought and obtained loans that they were never entitled to receive. The women and men of this Office are dedicated to holding actors who attempt to bilk public programs accountable.”
Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite added: “This settlement reflects our continued commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring that federal relief programs are used as Congress intended. SBA-OIG will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who misrepresent their eligibility.”
The case involved violations of the False Claims Act through false statements made on both loan applications and forgiveness requests regarding employee numbers and eligibility criteria.
The lawsuit included participation from a private whistleblower under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Salk is overseeing the matter for the Civil Frauds Unit.
