Law Brief: CARES Act Relief for Small Businesses
Williams Mullen's COVID-19 Comeback Plan: Preparing Today for Tomorrow's PPP Audit
Monthly Minute | Financial Relief for COVID-19
WEBINAR: Is the CARES Act Caring Enough?
Nota Bene Episode 84: Organizational Integrity in the Post-Pandemic Enforcement Environment
Nota Bene Episode 83: Fraud Enforcement and Policing COVID Relief: What Businesses Need to Know with Chuck Kreindler
COVID-19: The FFCRA & CARES Act--Update on Loan Programs, Tax Provisions & Employee Leave Provisions
On September 12, 2024, the CFPB announced that it entered into a stipulated proposed order with a large student loan servicer resolving allegations that the servicer forced borrowers into costly repayment options. Under the...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Sept. 6, 2024, announced the availability of $6.5 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding and $1 billion in State Infrastructure Financing...more
Since its inception, the cannabis industry has always existed alongside significant regulatory and compliance challenges. These largely stem from the fact that the manufacture, distribution and possession of marijuana remains...more
In May 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a Request for Input (RFI) titled “Federal Home Loan Bank Core Mission Activities and Mission Achievement” with comments due to the FHFA on July 15, 2024. This...more
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the form of forgivable loans to small...more
Massachusetts AG Andrew Joy Campbell, Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry, Iowa AG Brenna Bird, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced that the DOE approved $6.1 billion in automatic student loan relief for nearly...more
On April 16, 2024, the Canadian Government released the 2024 federal budget, including details on the much-anticipated federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program (ILG Program). First announced in the government's 2023 Fall...more
In March 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law establishing, among other things, the Payment Protection Program (PPP) administered...more
Four years ago this month, lenders began dispersing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses in what would become the largest Small Business Administration (SBA) lending program in history. The SBA approved...more
On March 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia received a complaint by two Black farmers, among others as part of a class action, alleging that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)...more
A federal court in Illinois recently dismissed a former franchisee’s counterclaims for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract regarding the franchisor’s advertising fund, and breach of contract and implied...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement statistics for FY 2023 and identified key priorities for FCA enforcement in 2024 and beyond. The DOJ continues to pursue FCA...more
With housing availability at record lows in many communities across the U.S., including gateway cities such as New York, and commercial office space still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government...more
Fraud enforcement actions by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) continue to rise against companies and individuals related to their applications for and receipt of COVID-19 benefits. It appears that no type of...more
On April 12, 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published two new rules: (1) Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) Moratorium Rescission and Removal of the Requirement for a Loan Authorization (Moratorium...more
On April 12, the SBA published a final rule in the Federal Register lifting the moratorium on licensing new nondepository small business lending companies (SBLCs) and adding a new type of entity called a “Community Advantage...more
President Recommends Regulatory Reforms to Address Recent Bank Failures - President Biden has issued a statement urging the federal banking agencies to adopt regulatory reforms that are meant to reduce the risk of future...more
On October 5, 2022, during the Tribal Consultation session in Washington, D.C., the Small Business Administration stated that it will not pursue its attempt to impose a Community Benefit Plan requirement on Alaska Native...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on September 12, the first-ever False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender. Prosperity Bank, a Texas-based regional bank, agreed to pay...more
On June 6, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule modifying its methodology for calculating the size of small businesses using an employee-based size standard and authorizes businesses participating...more
As everyone who has been tracking the COVID-19 relief programs since 2020 knows, at the outset there was massive confusion about the programs’ requirements as well as fear that funding could run out before businesses with...more
Since April 2020, through the CARES Act, the government has provided billions of dollars in emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including through...more
Unfortunately, the PPP Loan fall-out is far from over. As we noted in the last blog on PPP issues, we are seeing a number of PPP Forgiveness denials for a number of different reasons, and, along with that, we are seeing the...more
Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on December 15, 2021, that SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs awarded $1.1 million in grants and contracts to seven entities which will...more
The UK’s National Audit Office (the “NAO”) has reported that an estimated 11% - a total of £4.9 billion out of £47 billion issued - of the 1.5 million loans granted under the Government’s COVID-19 Bounce Back Loan Scheme (the...more