Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville is set to pay $1,042,500 to resolve federal allegations that it improperly obtained and later had forgiven a Paycheck Protection Program loan early in the pandemic. The civil settlement, announced this week, grows out of a whistleblower suit that accused the private club of certifying eligibility it did not actually have. The agreement settles claims under the False Claims Act, and the club did not admit liability as part of the deal.
According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Woodholme applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan of about $695,000 in early 2020 and later sought and received forgiveness of the full amount. Federal authorities contend the club, organized as a 501(c)(7) social club, "knowingly falsely represented its eligibility." Under the settlement, Woodholme will pay $1,042,500 to resolve those civil claims, and the suit, filed under the False Claims Act by a private relator, will award whistleblower Aidan Forsyth roughly $104,250, the release states. The Baltimore Business Journal also reported on the settlement and its local implications.
Local club and background
Woodholme, founded in 1927 and set in northwest Baltimore County, lists 300 Woodholme Avenue in Pikesville as its clubhouse address and markets golf, dining, and event services to members. ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer records the club as a 501(c)(7) social and recreational organization, the same tax status that federal officials say made it ineligible for the forgivable PPP funds at issue. In 2024, the club tapped Troon to manage operations, according to Troon.
Part of a wider recovery effort
Federal authorities have pursued similar recoveries from clubs and other nonprofits nationwide. In Arizona, Sun City’s Briarwood Country Club agreed to pay more than $630,000 in one case, and in Michigan, Kalamazoo’s Gull Lake club repaid roughly $440,000 in another. As with Woodholme, those disputes have turned on whether certain social or membership organizations were eligible for forgivable PPP aid under CARES Act rules. The Woodholme settlement is the latest example of agencies using civil False Claims Act tools to claw back pandemic-era funds.
Legal fallout and next steps
The settlement resolves a qui tam suit brought on behalf of the United States and was negotiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. and the SBA’s Office of the General Counsel, according to the federal release. "The claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability," the Department of Justice said, while noting that the recovery was supported by federal auditors and prosecutors. The case highlights how whistleblowers can trigger civil recoveries under the False Claims Act and how private relators may receive a share of any money the government gets back.
