The Sconi

BWI North America Inc., BWI Indiana Inc., and BWI Chassis Dynamics (NA) Inc. have agreed to pay over $21.6 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for which they were not eligible.

The PPP was established in March 2020 to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, providing forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). To qualify, businesses had to meet certain requirements, including limits on the number of employees and restrictions against government-owned entities.

According to federal authorities, the BWI Entities are part of a multinational corporation supplying automotive brake and suspension systems globally. At the time of their loan applications, these companies were majority-owned and controlled by Chinese government enterprises, specifically through the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Beijing. The United States alleges that the companies exceeded employee limits due to affiliations with other firms worldwide and were ineligible because of their government ownership.

The companies cooperated with investigators by identifying responsible individuals and sharing information from their internal review. This cooperation was considered under Department of Justice guidelines regarding disclosure, cooperation, and remediation in False Claims Act cases.

“The United States Attorney’s Office takes seriously its obligation to combat fraud and protect American taxpayers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard G. Frohling for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “This settlement demonstrates that businesses and individuals who abuse government programs like the Paycheck Protection Program will be held accountable.”

“The SBA is committed to rooting out every dollar of PPP fraud,” said SBA General Counsel Wendell Davis. “Alongside the Department of Justice Civil Fraud Section, US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and our other law enforcement partners, the agency will aggressively pursue bad actors to hold them accountable and recover pandemic relief funds improperly obtained from the program.”

Part of this civil settlement resolves claims brought under whistleblower provisions that allow private parties to file actions on behalf of the United States; GNGH2 Inc., which filed such a lawsuit, will receive more than $2.1 million as part of this agreement.

The case involved coordination between several agencies including the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin with support from SBA offices.

Trial Attorney Lindsey Roberts from the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carter for the Eastern District of Wisconsin managed proceedings related to this matter.

Authorities emphasized that these are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.