Tampa Republic

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Miles Partnership, LLC (Miles), a travel and tourism consulting company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has agreed to a civil settlement of $2,281,950 to resolve allegations that Miles improperly obtained and received forgiveness of a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Congress created the PPP in March 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized these businesses to seek forgiveness of the loans if they spent the loan funds on eligible expenses. When applying for PPP loans, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications. The PPP was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Under the PPP rules and regulations then in effect, companies that were required to file a registration statement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) were not eligible for a PPP loan.

GNGH2, Inc. filed a qui tam complaint in the Middle District of Florida alleging that Miles improperly obtained a second draw PPP loan for $2 million. According to the allegations in the complaint, Miles was required to file a registration statement under FARA due to its work with various foreign tourism boards. The United States investigated GNGH2’s allegations with the cooperation of Miles. The civil settlement will conclude the lawsuit filed by GNGH2 and GNGH2 will receive $207,450 as a share in the recovery.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to investigating and holding responsible those applicants who improperly obtained loans under the PPP program,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to seek civil redress and, where appropriate, criminally prosecute those individuals and entities that obtained PPP loans to which they were not entitled.”

SBA’s General Counsel Therese Meers stated: “The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, other federal law enforcement agencies, as well as private individuals who uncover borrower misconduct to recover the lending program’s damages as well as penalties.”

The investigation was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Emden with assistance from the Small Business Administration - Office of General Counsel.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal resources within the Department of Justice alongside partner agencies across government sectors aimed at combating pandemic-related fraud more effectively. This task force supports efforts in investigating and prosecuting primary domestic and international criminal actors while aiding agencies managing relief programs through fraud prevention measures including enhancing coordination mechanisms and sharing information gleaned from previous enforcement actions.

Tips about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported via multiple channels including visiting Civil Division's Fraud Section webpage or calling DOJ's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or using NCDF Web Complaint Form available online.

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

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