Companies owned by Trinity Biotech has agreed to pay $2.3 million to resolve allegations they improperly obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Immco Diagnostic LLC (Immco) and Primus Corporation (Primus) have agreed to pay $2.375 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they improperly obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for which they were not eligible.
In March 2020, Congress created the PPP to provide emergency financial assistance to American businesses suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A PPP loan was both forgivable and guaranteed by the SBA. One of the requirements for a business to obtain a second draw PPP loan, was the business had to have 300 or fewer employees.
In 2021, both Immco and Primus obtained second draw PPP loans. When Immco and Primus made their loan applications and again when they sought loan forgiveness, they were owned and controlled by Trinity Biotech plc (Trinity), a company based in Ireland with multiple subsidiaries worldwide. Trinity and its affiliates, which included Immco and Primus, had more than 300 employees when they applied for the loans and corresponding forgiveness. The United States therefore contends that Immco and Primus were ineligible for these loans because, together with their affiliates, they had more than 300 employees, in violation of the PPP rules.
Trinity Biotech, which specializes in the development, manufacture and marketing of diagnostic test kits; has a location on Girts Road on Airport Hill.
DiGiacomo said in a media release, “PPP was designed to support small business during the COVID-19 pandemic, but these companies failed to disclose accurate information about their size and eligibility thereby obtaining $1.8 million in forgiven loans that they were not entitled to.”
Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
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