Arkansas Company and Affiliates Pay $3.2 Million to Resolve Allegations Relating to Paycheck Protection Program Loans

BOSTON – QP Holdings, LLC, an Arkansas company, and its affiliates, River Bend, Industries, LLC, Master Molded Products, LLC and 3D Plastics, LLC, have agreed to pay $3,295,129.76 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for which they were not eligible.

Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 29, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain approved expenses through the PPP, which the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administered. The PPP provided for loans in two “draws”—first draw loans became available in March 2020, with a second draw announced in January 2021. Businesses were required to certify on their loan applications that they met certain size standards based on, for example, the number of employees they, and their affiliated entities, collectively employed.  

QP Holdings’ affiliates each received a second-draw PPP loan. As part of the settlement, QP Holdings and its affiliates acknowledge that they were ineligible for their PPP loans because they exceeded the applicable business size standards for second-draw loans. The affiliates sought and received forgiveness from SBA for the full amount of their second-draw loans.

The settlement credits the QP Holdings Entities for cooperation under the Department of Justice’s Guidelines for Taking Voluntary Disclosure, Cooperation, and Remediation into Account in False Claims Act Matters.  

The claims resolved in today’s settlement include claims that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Verity Investigations, LLC v. QP Holdings, LLC, et al., No. 24-cv-12001-NMG. As part of today’s resolution, the relator will receive 10% of the settlement amount.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and the U.S. Small Business Administration made the announcement today. Brian M. LaMacchia, Chief of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.