Another Round of Federal Aid and Another Round of Federal Fraud.
With Congress passing additional Covid aid in December 2020, and from what appears to be more in the pipeline, law enforcement is on the hunt to root out fraud. The DOJ Fraud Section, local U.S. Attorneys, the SBA Office of the Inspector General, the FDIC Office of the Inspector General, the IRS, and other law enforcement agencies are working together to prosecute individuals and group of individuals from around the country charging them with conspiracies, wire fraud, money laundering, and bank fraud. With charges ranging from statutory maximum sentences of 5 years to 30 years in prison, the government is making its efforts publicly known to deter potential fraud. The government has also set up a fraud hotline to encourage people to report instances of fraud. The Foodman Firm has experience with PPP fraud and other white-collar fraud cases.
CLOSE TO $1 TRILLION IN PPP LOANS AND COUNTING
Congress has made available to small businesses close to $1 trillion in PPP loans for Covid relief, with perhaps more to come in the future. The 2nd round is designed to help small businesses with less than 300 or fewer employees. This time loans are capped at $2 million and to be eligible for a second PPP loan, the business must demonstrate a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020. The loan is forgivable if 60% of the funds are used for payroll, while the remaining amount can be used for certain mortgage expenses, rent, utilities, and pandemic related expenses.
ON THE AGENDA IN TALLAHASSEE
Florida’s legislature is looking at a number of important issues as it leads up to the 2021 legislative session in March 2021.
One issue to keep an eye on is whether the state will shield business from coronavirus lawsuits. The state is contemplating a bill, HB 7, which would establish requirements for a civil action based on Covid-19 claims including pleading requirements, the plaintiff’s burden of proof and providing a statute of limitations.
In finalizing a bill, the legislature will balance health issues and the right to make civil claims, against the economic impact of lawsuits to businesses when claims are without merit.
THE $15 PER HOUR MINIMUM WAGE FOR ALL AMERICANS
On his second full day in the White House, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to increase the minimum hourly wage for federal workers to $15 per hour. Congress is considering raising the national minimum wage from $7.25 per hour, where it has been since 2009, to $15 hour, which will require all American workers to receive a minimum of $15 per hour. There continues to be heated debate between proponents who believe that $15 per hour keeps people out of poverty to opponents who believe it will harm small businesses and cause them to hire less workers, or perhaps even fire existing workers. This issue will be front and center in the 117th United States Congress that was sworn in on January 3, 2021.