Manassas Businessman Agrees to Pay 1M to Settle Pandemic Fraud Allegations

Summary

A U.S. Attorney's Office release from Alexandria, Va. says the founder of a Manassas business has agreed to pay $1,000,000 to settle allegations that he falsified payroll amounts to obtain inflated Paycheck Protection Program loans for True Information Assurance, LLC. It states that Steven T. Covey, owner and President of the company, obtained two PPP loans by submitting applications with false payroll figures to SBA-authorized lenders, and that after he sold the company in 2021 he retained all proceeds from both loans. The settlement began with a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act, United States ex rel. Salman v. Bull Run Capital Investments, Inc., et al. The civil claims settled are allegations only.

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“Manassas Businessman Agrees to Pay 1M to Settle Pandemic Fraud Allegations.” Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-10-17-manassas-businessman-agrees-to-pay-1m-to-settle-pandemic-fr-41963dbab1/, SHA-256 16110ec604efa49f1f55a90e84fb9c74b8fee7c10a880616c30352b22e213b30.

Full text

ALEXANDRIA, Va. –The founder of a Manassas business has agreed to pay $1,000,000 to settle allegations that he falsified payroll amounts to obtain inflated loans on behalf of True Information Assurance, LLC, through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The PPP offered loans to eligible small businesses for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP borrowers were required to provide their income and supporting documents to qualify for the loan amount.
Steven T. Covey obtained two PPP loans for True Information Assurance, of which he was owner and President, by submitting loan applications with false payroll figures to SBA-authorized lenders. Based on these fraudulent applications, True Information Assurance received two inflated loans. After Covey sold True Information Assurance in 2021, he retained all proceeds from both PPP loans.
The settlement began with a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act,
United States ex rel. Salman v. Bull Run Capital Investments, Inc., et al.
The whistleblower will receive a share of this settlement.
The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Kim and Auditor Peter Melaragni for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
. Related court documents and information from the civil lawsuit can be accessed on
PACER
by searching for No. 1:21-cv-852.
The civil claims settled are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

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Original: www.justice.gov