Washington, D.C. — The Middle East Institute, a renowned nonprofit organization based in the nation’s capital, has agreed to fork over $718,558 to settle PPP fraud allegations. The Institute faced heat for misrepresenting its activities when it applied for and received a second-draw loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Disaster Relief Program.
According to U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, the Middle East Institute falsely claimed it was not primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, thereby qualifying for the PPP loan. The organization also obtained full forgiveness of the loan amount, totaling $359,279.
Under the False Claims Act, entities that violate the law must pay three times the damage to the United States. However, the Middle East Institute settled for double the loan amount, a figure totaling $718,558.
This settlement came after a Federal investigation was launched following a whistleblower complaint by TZAC, a public interest group. The case, captioned U.S. ex rel. TZAC v. The Middle East Institute, is part of a broader probe into potential fraud within COVID-19 government relief programs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darrell Valdez and Auditor Timothy Hurley led the investigation for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. U.S. Attorney Graves thanked Gary Fox and Kandace Zeyala of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s General Counsel for their assistance in the probe.
Whistleblowers and concerned citizens can report potential PPP fraud by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or submitting a complaint form online at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
RELATED: Middle East Institute Settles PPP Fraud for $718K
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Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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