A bankrupt California-based fashion retailer has become the first company to settle civil claims with US authorities for making false statements to banks.
The claims sought to obtain forgivable loans from an $809-billion dollar pandemic relief program aimed at small businesses.
The US attorney’s office in Sacramento announced on Tuesday that belt and wallet retailer SlideBelts Inc. and its chief executive, Brigham Taylor, had agreed to pay $100,000 to settle false allegations.
They initially claimed falsely told three banks the company was not in bankruptcy, which is a criteria to receive loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
