GPS Manufacturer Agrees to Pay $2.6 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that Hemisphere GNSS (USA) has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by “knowingly providing false information to apply for and receive forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to which the company was not entitled.”

At the bottom of a news release, the Justice Department said that claims resolved by the settlement “are allegations only” and that there “has been no determination of liability.”

The PPP, part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), was intended to provide emergency financial support to Americans suffering the adverse economic effects caused by the pandemic, the agency said.  As a background, the CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to pay employees and other expenses.

The federal agency said that in February 2021, Hemisphere applied for a second-round PPP loan, certifying it was eligible.  The company also said that no “entity created in or organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China” owned or held 20 percent or more of an economic interest in Hemisphere.

The company also claimed that it did not retain as a board member a person who is a resident of the People’s Republic of China, the agency said.  “At the time of its application, however, both of these certifications were allegedly false.  For this reason, Hemisphere was not eligible for the second round PPP loan it received,” the agency said in the press release.

Last year, CNH Industrial purchased Hemisphere GNSS from China-based Unistrong for an estimated $175 million.  The company said that Hemisphere, when combined with its Raven agriculture brand, would give it full control over precision and navigation technologies.