ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In a shocking turn of events, a local business owner has been ordered to pay over $350,000 in treble damages and penalties after a default judgement was handed down in a False Claims Act case.
Making false statements on an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application landed Michael Hanzuk II, 31, of Anchorage, in hot water. This is not the first time Hanzuk has been in trouble with the law – he was charged and convicted of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act in August 2022.
According to court documents, Hanzuk admitted to running a ‘tuning and deleting’ scheme with his co-owners and employees at Arm Rippin Toys Inc. This scheme involved removing control systems designed to reduce pollutants being emitted from vehicles, which is illegal under the Clean Air Act.
In 2020, Hanzuk applied for an EIDL loan of over $100,000 and falsely certified that he and Arm Rippin Toys were not engaged in ‘any illegal activity’, despite their active conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.
The False Claims Act creates a civil cause of action for the recovery of damages and penalties from those who submit false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The U.S. affirmatively sought and was granted treble damages, as well as penalties against Hanzuk in the civil matter for his false claims, which were three times the amount of the EIDL funds he received.
‘My office will continue to prosecute Covid-19 related fraud and bring justice to those who abuse these programs,’ said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. ‘The False Claims Act allows treble damages and penalties, which acts as a valuable tool to deter and to hold accountable those who seek to misuse public funds and scam American taxpayers.’
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Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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