Construction Firm Reaches $8.5 Million PPP Fraud Settlement (1)

Engineered Structures Inc., a construction company, will pay $8.5 million to resolve claims it violated the False Claims Act by defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program.

The company will pay the federal government $5.75 million, and whistleblower Karen Bloomfield’s attorneys $2.75 million, Judge David J. Novak of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a Monday order. Bloomfield will receive a $1.7 million share.

• Bloomfield argued that the company violated the FCA because it falsely certified in its PPP application that it satisfied size limits for eligible businesses. The program, enacted to provide businesses ...