Okaya Shinnichi Corporation of America, a Charlotte-based steel tubing manufacturer, has agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million to resolve federal claims that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The settlement, announced Monday, follows allegations that the company misrepresented its size on a second-draw PPP application. As part of the agreement, the company did not admit liability.
Okaya agreed to pay $1,196,421.68 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying it had fewer than 300 employees on a second-draw PPP application, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The office says the suit arose from a qui tam complaint that could entitle the relator to a portion of the recovery.
Okaya Shinnichi Corp. of America is the U.S. affiliate of Japanese manufacturing firms and lists its Charlotte address as 300 Crompton Street. The company describes itself as a maker of steel tubing and automotive parts, according to Okaya’s affiliate listing. The Department of Justice said the alleged false certification related to a second-draw loan of $478,568.67.
How the government says the loan was obtained
Prosecutors allege Okaya misrepresented its corporate affiliations and employee count to qualify for the second-draw PPP loan, pointing to affiliates that, if aggregated, would have pushed the company above the Small Business Administration’s 300-employee limit. In a post on X, the U.S. Attorney’s Office shared the announcement along with the full Justice Department release and the underlying qui tam complaint.
Why it matters now
Federal civil enforcement of PPP-related False Claims Act suits has remained active into 2026, with recoveries and new investigations continuing, according to legal analysis. Winston & Strawn notes that FCA settlements and judgments exceeded $6.8 billion in fiscal 2025 and that pandemic-era enforcement remains a priority.
Legal implications
"The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability," the Justice Department said in its press release. Even without criminal charges, civil False Claims Act settlements can bring significant financial exposure and may reward whistleblowers who bring qui tam suits, with businesses in similar cases facing multi-million-dollar payouts.
For Charlotte employers, the Okaya settlement is a reminder that questions about PPP eligibility can surface years after loans were disbursed, as relators and investigators continue to mine public loan data.
