Manassas businessman agrees to pay $1M to settle pandemic fraud allegations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -The founder of a Manassas business has agreed to pay $1,000,000 to settle allegations that he falsified payroll amounts to obtain inflated loans on behalf of True Information Assurance, LLC, through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The PPP offered loans to eligible small businesses for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP borrowers were required to provide their income and supporting documents to qualify for the loan amount.

Steven T. Covey obtained two PPP loans for True Information Assurance, of which he was owner and President, by submitting loan applications with false payroll figures to SBA-authorized lenders. Based on these fraudulent applications, True Information Assurance received two inflated loans. After Covey sold True Information Assurance in 2021, he retained all proceeds from both PPP loans.

The settlement began with a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, United States ex rel. Salman v. Bull Run Capital Investments, Inc., et al. The whistleblower will receive a share of this settlement.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Kim and Auditor Peter Melaragni for the Eastern District of Virginia.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information from the civil lawsuit can be accessed on PACER by searching for No. 1:21-cv-852.

The civil claims settled are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.