The Strand, the New York City bookstore owned by Nancy Bass Wyden, has agreed to pay $1,482,560 to settle claims related to a Covid-era government loan. The U.S. attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., said the store was not eligible for the second-draw Paycheck Protection Program funds because Bass Wyden is married to Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.
The bookstore applied for a $932,350 loan in February 2021. According to the prosecutor’s office, Bass Wyden certified that the spouse of a member of Congress did not hold a controlling interest in the applicant. The office said that certification was knowingly false and that the store was ineligible for the loan. The settlement does not include a determination of liability by the Strand.
The Strand said the application involved an unintentional mistake. It said its accountant and the bank processing the application were unaware of a restriction Congress had added between the first and second rounds of PPP funding. The store also said the application was submitted during a rapidly changing public health emergency.
Congress created the PPP in 2020 to provide forgivable loans to businesses during the pandemic. A later funding measure barred second-draw loans to businesses in which a member of Congress or their spouse held a controlling interest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act by Blockquote Inc., a company whose owners have not been publicly identified. The law allows private parties to bring claims on behalf of the government. Blockquote is set to receive about $148,256 from the settlement, and the case docket is sealed.
A spokesperson for Sen. Wyden’s office said the senator and his wife do not discuss her business and that he had no involvement in the loan or settlement. Nancy Bass Wyden is the granddaughter of Ben Bass, who founded the Strand.
Sources: CNBC Markets.