AP Investigation: At least 75 publicly traded firms, some with thousands of employees, among those receiving emergency loans meant for small businesses.
Eight companies, or their subsidiaries, received the maximum $10 million possible, including a California software company that settled a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation late last year into accounting errors that overstated its revenue.
President Donald Trump, asked Monday whether the criteria for who can receive loans should change, said that “we’ll look at individual things and some people will have to return it if we think it’s inappropriate.” He added that the loans are supposed to be awarded, in part, by “what we think is right.”The AP analysis comes as lawmakers from both political parties negotiatethat in large part would replenish the Paycheck Protection Program with more than $300 billion.
In an emailed statement Monday, the company said: “The livelihood of our U.S. employees and their families would be severely disrupted if they were to lose their jobs or be furloughed. We are doing everything we can to support them.” By design, the Paycheck Protection Program was meant to get money out quickly to as many small businesses as possible, using a formula based in part on workforce and payroll size. Some of the eligibility criteria was expanded making it possible for some businesses with more than 500 employees to qualify if, for example, they met certain size standards for their industries or other conditions.
Five of the companies that the AP identified were previously under investigation by financial and other regulators, including firms that paid penalties to resolve allegations, records show. Marrone Bio Innovations, a biopesticide company in Davis, California, that has about 50 workers, similarly agreed to pay $1.8 million in 2016 after the SEC alleged its chief operating officer had inflated financial results to hit projections that it would double revenues during its first year as a public company. Marrone received a loan worth $1.7 million.
One was Helius Medical Technologies, a company located near Philadelphia that develops technology to help injured brains heal themselves.The company has 19 employees and received a $323,000 loan amid a tough stretch. Its most recent annual report warned, “We may be unable to continue to operate without the threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future” and did not expect to have enough cash to go beyond May.
Another company that was facing financial doubts before the virus was Enservco Corp., a Denver-based oil and gas firm. In its annual report filed last month, the company said: “We do not generate adequate revenue to fund our current operations, and we incurred significant net operating losses during the years ended December 31, 2019, and 2018, which raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
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