Taiji Group USA, Inc., a paper conversion firm based in Conover, has agreed to cough up $460,395.09 to settle claims it misled the feds to snag a loan it had no business taking. Specifically, the accusation was that the company provided false information to illegally secure a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Lawrence J. Cameron, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, dropped the news, saying that Taiji Group failed to follow the straight and narrow when filing their application, as reported here.
The PPP was part of the CARES Act from March 2020, a federal initiative aimed at helping small businesses weather the storm that was COVID-19. Congress, hoping to give these businesses a fighting chance, kept the money flowing with a second helpings of PPP loans in 2021 through the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act. Borrowers, for their part, were asked to promise that all their paperwork was on the level.
When Taiji Group applied in March 2021, they assured the government that they were legit enough to qualify. Among other things, they said they had no major ownership stakes held by entities from the People's Republic of China and that none of their board members lived there. Turns out, those checks might not have exactly been the truth. They ended up getting a loan for $271,165, which they eventually got forgiven, even though they apparently weren't supposed to get it in the first place.
"PPP loans were a lifeline for many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic," Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron noted. He then pointed out that companies not playing by the rules harmed the taxpayers and sucked up resources meant for those who were eligible. He vowed to continue aggressively to pursue those who gamed the system.
It all came to light thanks to a qui tam lawsuit, which is lawyer-speak for a whistleblower case. This kind of legal action lets someone blow the whistle on fraud and get a piece of any recovery the government manages to make. This particular case went by the handle United States of America ex rel. Sidesolve, LLC, v. Taiji Group USA, Inc., and you can find the case details for W.D.N.C. Case No. 5:24-cv-98 tucked away in the court files. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Johnson was the point person for the government on this one.
