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New York's Strand Bookstore to repay nearly $1.5M after improperly receiving federal loan
The Strand Bookstore will repay nearly $1.5 million in a DOJ settlement over an improperly received federal loan.
Key points
- The Strand applied in 2021 for a second Paycheck Protection Program loan of $932,350.
- The DOJ said the store was ineligible because owner Nancy Bass Wyden is married to Sen. Ron Wyden.
- Bass Wyden said the mistake was unintentional and the funds were returned once the issue came to attention.
Why it matters. The case highlights eligibility rules for pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans, which required certification that no member of Congress held a controlling interest in the business.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement Tuesday under which New York's Strand Bookstore will return nearly $1.5 million. The DOJ said the store was ineligible because owner Nancy Bass Wyden is the wife of Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and it had applied in 2021 for a $932,350 loan. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the program was meant to save American jobs, not enrich ineligible people, while Bass Wyden called the mistake unintentional.
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New York's Strand Bookstore to repay nearly $1.5M after improperly receiving federal loan
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that New York's Strand Bookstore will pay nearly $1.5 million after improperly receiving a pandemic-era small business loan NEW YORK -- New York's beloved Strand Bookstore will pay back nearly $1.5 million after improperly applying for and receiving a pandemic-era small business loan even though it wasn't eligible, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced. According to the DOJ, the Strand was ineligible because the owner, Nancy Bass Wyden, is the wife of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon. The DOJ announced the settlement Tuesday. In 2021, the Strand applied for a second draw loan of $932,350 from the Paycheck Protection Program, which required applicants to certify that a member of Congress did not have a direct or indirect controlling interest in the business. The bookstore had previously received a PPP loan in 2020, but that money did not require the same certification. “The Paycheck Protection Program was created to save American jobs, not to enrich those who aren’t eligible for taxpayer-funded relief, especially the wife of a U.S. Senator,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in a statement. Bass Wyden said in a statement that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the laws and regulations surrounding government relief programs “were changing rapidly” and that the bookstore was not aware of the eligibility changes between when .