Home / Crime and Justice / Auto Mogul Accused of $7.3M PPP Loan Fraud
Auto Mogul Accused of $7.3M PPP Loan Fraud
11 Jul
Summary
- Four dealerships received $7.3 million in federal aid between 2020-2021.
- Allegations claim Van Bortel withheld information on employee numbers.
- A private firm filed the complaint under seal in October 2024.
Federal authorities are investigating allegations of fraud concerning Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic. A complaint, unsealed recently, accuses Mary Catherine Van Bortel of improperly obtaining $7.3 million in federal aid for four dealerships within the Van Bortel Automotive Group between 2020 and 2021. The loans were intended to help small businesses affected by the pandemic.
The core of the allegations claims that the Van Bortel Automotive Group misrepresented the collective number of employees across its dealerships when applying for individual loans. Program rules at the time limited eligibility for new car dealership groups to those with fewer than 200 employees. Records indicate the applications collectively listed 398 employees in 2020 and 377 in 2021.
A private entity, PPP Eligibility Experts LLC, filed the initial complaint in October 2024. Federal law allows such firms to sue on behalf of the government and receive a portion of recovered funds. The U.S. Attorney's Office is now pursuing these claims after declining to intervene in the private action.
In a separate but related case, the Genesee Valley Club has agreed to pay $1.05 million to settle allegations of receiving an ineligible $705,000 PPP loan in 2021. The U.S. Attorney's Office argued that private social clubs did not qualify for such relief. The club stated the loan was approved and forgiven in error and anticipates no operational impact from the settlement.
