BOSTON — The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 (IBEW Local 103) has agreed to pay $2,033,205 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan before it was eligible to do so.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, IBEW Local 103 — a Dorchester-based labor union and 501(c)(5) nonprofit — applied for and received a first-round PPP loan in April 2020, months before Congress amended the program to include labor unions. At the time of the loan, such organizations were not eligible under federal law.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress in March 2020, established the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to deliver forgivable loans to small businesses facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic…