EVERETT — Three companies agree to pay back a total of more than $5.4 million in restitution and penalties to settle allegations they applied for and accepted millions of dollars in pandemic-related loans they did not qualify for.
According to a United States Department of Justice press release, two companies had too many employees to qualify for the loans and the other was engaged in cannabis sales. The release noted the settlements are not an admission of guilt.
An Everett company, Umbra Cuscinetti Inc., a subsidiary of multinational aerospace conglomerate UMBRAGROUP S.p.A., faced allegations that it had too many employees to qualify for the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan it received. The company will pay $1,424,996 to resolve the allegations, the release said.
Podworks Corp. is an Arlington-based company, according to state business filings. In April 2025, a private individual filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Seattle alleging that Podworks did not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program loan since some of its business involves selling cannabis, which is illegal under federal law, the release said.
Podworks will pay the government $632,958 for the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan it received. According to the release, the settlement resolves the allegation.
Lotte Duty Free Guam LLC, a division of Lotte Hotel Holdings USA LLC, received two Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loans, the release said. In its loan application, the company, which operates a duty-free store at the Guam airport, claimed to have fewer than 500 employees, but the Guam store is part of a larger company with too many employees to qualify for the loans.
Lotte will pay $3,437,549, the release said.
The civil settlements include the resolution of claims brought under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, where a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery, the release said. Assistant United States Attorneys Matt Waldrop and Kayla Stahman negotiated the resolutions.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan
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