Q: Grant scam from my employer
I work in a small business and when covid 19 started I had a pay cut with out any warning un till I say my paycheck short by 1200 a month. I was told I’ll get pay back my money after he gets a grant no he told me he didn’t get it and won’t give me the money I was owed in the last 2 mibths and a half
today is payday I didn’t get my check after I ask the owner I was told he needs to give me my check threw his other company in case they check on him. Is he doing fraud how can I know ? Can I loose my job and money owed if he gets caught ?
A:
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Fraud may be actionable under the federal False Claims Act. Examples of potential fraud include: (1) an employer applying for a SBA PPP loan, despite not meeting the financial criteria; (2) the employer misrepresenting its payroll numbers to obtain a PPP loan; (3) the employer misusing PPP loan funds, such as utilizing them for non-payroll expenses and falsely reporting for loan forgiveness.
It is not possible from the information you provided to determine if any fraud is occurring. However, the False Claims Act does prohibit retaliation against an employee who engage in "protected activity," such as reporting fraudulent activity.
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