Slidebelts Inc. Reaches PPP Fraud Settlement with DOJ

The first civil settlement to resolve fraud allegations against the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been entered, according to a January 12, 2021 press release from the Department of Justice. The PPP was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide up to $349 billion to small businesses and corporations to keep them afloat. In December 2020, Congress authorized nearly $285 billion in additional Paycheck Protection Program funding.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced, “The defendants made false statements to multiple banks in order to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan that should have been disbursed to an honest small business suffering financially from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

SlideBelts Inc. and Brigham Taylor, the company’s CEO, have agreed to pay the U.S. $100,000 in damages to resolve the fraud allegations. The company also returned all of the funds they received from the Paycheck Protection Program. As a part of the settlement agreement, Taylor and Slidebelts Inc. admitted to making false statements to lenders and the Small Business Administration (SBA) in order to secure funding. They lied and claimed they were not bankrupt so that federally-insured lenders would give them money.

Slidebelts Inc. was given $350,000 from a PPP loan on the basis of fabricated statements. Taylor’s and SlideBelts’ misconduct violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).

SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King said of the crime, “This is a critical time for our nation’s small businesses. Greed has no place in SBA programs that are intended to provide assistance to the nation’s small businesses struggling with the pandemic’s challenges.”