Dec. 16 (UPI) — Three Chinese-owned companies agreed to pay $7.3 million to resolve allegations they submitted false claims to secure loans under a COVID-19-era program to help pay employees, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
The companies, known collectively as the Greenland USA Entities, submitted applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans but, since they they were affiliated with other companies in the United States and China, had too many employees to qualify, the Justice Department said.
“Congress created the PPP to help American small businesses during the pandemic, not to fund large Chinese-owned corporations,” said Brad D. Schimel, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
“Here, however, the defendants are alleged to have provided false information to the [Small Business Administration] to obtain government funds to which they were not entitled. This settlement demonstrations that the U.S. Attorney’s Office takes seriously its obligation to combat fraud and protect American taxpayers.”
The companies involved were Greenland LA Metropolis Hotel Development LLC, Greenland US Management LLC and Greenland LA Metropolis Development III — which own and develop real estate projects and are owned by Greenland Holding Group Company Ltd. The Chinese company employs tens of thousands of employees across the globe.
The Justice Department said the companies applied for both the first and second rounds of PPP loans offered during the pandemic. Under the terms of the second round of loans, the companies weren’t eligible because they were more than 20% owned by entities based out of China.
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