A Central Valley farm business has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle allegations of lying on applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert alleged that four vertically integrated companies owned by John Seasholtz of Fresno inflated their employee headcount by including non-employee contract workers. The settlement resolves allegations that Seasholtz, through his four companies — Mendota Land Co., Sweetwood Farm Co. LLC, Sweetwood Farm Inc. and Seasholtz Co. LLC — received $1.8 million in excess PPP funds.

Seasholtz previously repaid the excess PPP loan funds to the lender Bank of the West, according to U.S. Attorney Talbert, thereby relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration of liability for approximately $1.8 million in loan guarantees. As a part of the settlement announced Monday, Seasholtz agreed to pay about $400,000 in damages and penalties under the False Claims Act and approximately $200,000 in civil penalties under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act.

“Paycheck Protection Program funds have helped qualified businesses throughout the Central Valley that were negatively impacted by the pandemic,” stated Talbert. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office invested significant time and resources in this investigation and will continue to do so to ensure that PPP funds only go to those who are eligible.”

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed July 2020 under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed by Bell Hill LLC.

There has been no determination regarding the amount of the recovery to be paid to Bell Hill, LLC, whose manager Phil Maxwell previously worked for Seasholtz as a consultant.