Arizona GPS company agrees to pay $2.6M to settle false claims allegations

PHOENIX — Hemisphere GNSS Inc., an Arizona-based satellite global positioning manufacturer, agreed to pay $2.6 million in order to settle allegations it gave false information in an application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, authorities said last week.

The GPS company had applied for a second PPP loan in Feb. 2021 under stated certifications that no entity from China owned 20% or more of interest and no Chinese representative was an active member on Hemisphere’s board.

However, the U.S. Department of Justice for the District of Arizona alleged both certifications were false therefore making the company ineligible to receive the loan.

The PPP loan project was instituted by Congress in March of 2020 as a piece of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The legislation authorized the distribution of billions of relief dollars to American businesses scrapping to pay employees and expenses.

“Legitimate PPP loans saved small businesses across America,” U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona said in a press release. “But not everyone used the program as intended. Our office will continue to hold accountable those business and individuals who misused the PPP program, as the settlement announced today reflects.”

The recent settlement includes the resolution brought under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act introduced by GNGH2 Inc. The entity will receive $260,000, or 10% of the total settlement.

The case was a result of collaborative work of the U.S. Justice Department’s civil division, commercial litigation branch and fraud section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the Small Business Administration’s Office of General Counsel and Office of Inspector General.

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