U.S. Attorney's Office, New Hampshire, "Robert Waters, Jr. and Westville Remarketing, Inc. Settle Alleged False Claims Act Violations" (April 16, 2024)
Summary
Press release of April 16, 2024 from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire, issued from Concord, announcing a settlement resolving False Claims Act allegations that a part-owner and his company took and misused Economic Injury Disaster Loan proceeds to buy a yacht. They agreed to pay the proceeds of an auction of the vessel plus an additional $150K to the government. The United States contends that after applying on April 7, 2020 for a loan of $40,000 and on December 27, 2021 for a modification adding $343,800, he transferred $340,000 of the proceeds on February 15, 2022 to another entity he wholly owned and used the funds to buy an Azimut yacht with no legitimate business purpose. A federal grand jury had indicted him on August 2, 2023, but the criminal case was dismissed on March 29, 2024.
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Cite this document
“U.S. Attorney's Office, New Hampshire, ‘Robert Waters, Jr. and Westville Remarketing, Inc. Settle Alleged False Claims Act Violations’ (April 16, 2024).”
Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-attorney-s-office-new-hampshire-robert-waters-jr-and-westville-rem-be0d064c88/
, SHA-256 2b788b42ab0c6d1ff3386e6a5d13aae4795f83fff13756fb0d06691ae20988be.Full text
CONCORD- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire entered into a settlement agreement with Robert Michael Waters, Jr. and Westville Remarketing, Inc, (Westville) to resolve allegations that Waters and Westville violated the False Claims Act by taking and misusing proceeds of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to purchase a yacht, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Waters and his Company, Westville, have agreed to pay the proceeds from an auction of the yacht and an additional $150K to the government. In the settlement, Waters agreed to the auction of the yacht and to cooperate in the transfer of title to whoever purchases it. The auction of the yacht will occur at a later date. “Unfortunately, individuals like Mr. Waters attempted to inappropriately benefit from government programs aimed at aiding Americans and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “This Office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to uncover this widespread fraud and recover these funds on behalf of American taxpayers. This settlement demonstrates that we will pursue both civil and criminal avenues to hold those who committed COVID-19 pandemic fraud accountable and divest them of their ill-gotten gains.” The United States contends that Waters and his Company, Westville, falsely represented to the Small Business Administration (SBA) that Westville would apply the proceeds of the EIDL to its business to counteract the negative economic effects of COVID-19, and instead used $340,000 of the loan proceeds to purchase an Azimut yacht called the “Alisa.” On April 7, 2020, Robert Waters, a 50% owner of Westville, submitted an application for an EIDL for $40,000 on Westville’s behalf. On December 27, 2021, he applied for a modification of the original EIDL for an additional $343,800. On February 15, 2022, just over one month after receiving the EIDL proceeds from the SBA, Waters transferred $340,000 of the funds to another entity he wholly owned, and spent the funds and other money to purchase the yacht “Alisa.” This yacht had no legitimate business purpose. Waters was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 2, 2023. The U.S. Attorney’s Office moved to dismiss the indictment following a revelation of additional information. The Court accepted the motion, and the criminal case was dismissed on March 29, 2024. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service led the investigation. The United States Marshal Service assisted with the investigation and seizure of the vessel. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Gingrande and Raphael Katz represented the government in this matter. ### Water's Civil Settlement
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