ID Logistics US, Inc. Agrees To Pay $2.36 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to a Paycheck Protection Program Loan

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that ID Logistics US, Inc. (IDUSA) has agreed to pay $2,362,360 to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for which it was not eligible. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was a federal law enacted in or about March 2020 designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP loans were guaranteed by the SBA and, if the loan proceeds were used for eligible expenses, the SBA would forgive the loan balance and accrued interest. To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business had to submit a PPP loan application to an authorized lender. The PPP loan application required the business, through its authorized representative, to acknowledge the PPP rules and make certain affirmative certifications that the applicant was eligible to obtain a PPP loan. Whether an applicant qualified as a small business was determined, in part, by assessing the number of employees of the business, including any domestic and foreign affiliates. IDUSA is a subsidiary of ID Logistics Group SA, a French company founded in 2001 that has, in addition to IDUSA, at least fifteen other affiliated companies around the world. According to the United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, IDUSA submitted an application for a PPP loan certifying that, together with its affiliates, it had fewer than 500 employees, when, with affiliate entities counted, it had more than 500 employees and was therefore not eligible for the PPP loan. Once IDUSA was made aware of the investigation, they fully cooperated with the United States to resolve the matter. “The SBA is committed to rooting out every dollar of PPP fraud,” said Wendell Davis, SBA General Counsel. “Alongside the US Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the agency will aggressively pursue bad actors to hold them accountable and recover pandemic relief funds improperly obtained from the program.” This settlement resolves a lawsuit originally filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permits a private party to file a complaint on behalf of the United States and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. This qui tam is captioned United States ex rel. Verity Investigations, LLC v. ID Logistics US, Inc. No. 3:25-CV-00387 (M.D.P.A.). The whistleblower will receive $236,236 of the settlement amount. The investigation and resolution of this matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Haken and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. # # #