| Abstrakt: |
NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NYC whistleblower attorney Timothy J. McInnis announced a $1,470,085 settlement against Stefano Maroni, who is the owner and CEO of GMI USA Corp. and Belovefine, Ltd., shoe designers and importers located in NYC. The settlement resolves FaIse Claims Act allegations in a qui tam whistleblower complaint filed under seal on March 14, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by former Maroni employee Devyn Taylor. Taylor alleged Maroni and his companies defrauded the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") during the COVID-19 pandemic by using the same employees to get forgivable loans for each of Maroni's two companies, when, in fact they were essentially one and the same business. The United States government, through the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the Southern District of New York, joined Taylor's lawsuit on December 6, 2024, and is also a party to the settlement. The case was unsealed December 9, 2024, by United States District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
