Carten-Fujikin Agrees to Pay $774,812.51 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Over a $500,000 PPP Loan
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware announced on October 28 that Carten-Fujikin, Inc. (CFI), a maker of high-integrity valve products, has agreed to pay $774,812.51 to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in violation of the False Claims Act.
CFI is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Cheshire, Connecticut. It manufactures high-integrity valve products and integrated gas systems for the semiconductor industry, and is wholly owned by Fujikin of America Inc., which is in turn wholly owned by Fujikin Incorporated of Japan.
According to the Justice Department, on or about January 28, 2021, CFI obtained a $500,000 Second Draw PPP loan and later received forgiveness of the loan. Second Draw eligibility, however, required that the borrower, together with its affiliates, employ no more than 300 people, and that the borrower certify that no owner of 20 percent or more had significant operations in China or Hong Kong. CFI, together with its affiliates, had more than 300 employees, and Fujikin Japan operated multiple locations in China through Fujikin of China Incorporated, making CFI ineligible for the loan.
The settlement resolves claims brought under the whistleblower (qui tam) provisions of the False Claims Act; the whistleblower will receive a share of the settlement. The case is No. 25-1206-CFC. U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace announced the settlement, and Civil Chief Dylan J. Steinberg handled the matter. The Justice Department stressed that the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and that there has been no determination of liability. Anyone with information about relief-fund fraud can call the Justice Department's National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部总部罗伯特·肯尼迪大楼。照片：APK，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington. Photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
