RICHLAND, MI — Gull Lake Country Club will pay $440,312.50 to resolve a federal district course civil case related to allegations the organization obtained a COVID-19 pandemic-related loan despite its status as an ineligible nonprofit, U.S. Department of Justice officials said.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten in a statement Monday, Aug. 26, said the country club’s payment will resolve a civil case relating to the club obtaining a loan in 2020 from the Paycheck Protection Program, a U.S. Department of Treasury-based initiative more commonly referenced as the “PPP program.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program provided important financial relief to eligible small businesses and other entities,” Totten said in a statement. “Today’s resolution demonstrates our continued commitment to protect taxpayer dollars and investigate allegations of fraud on critical government programs.”
The PPP program was part of the CARES Act — approved in March 2020 by federal lawmakers — aimed at helping organizations recover from economic woes that resulted from the pandemic.
Totten said, under the rules applicable at the time Gull Lake Country Club officials pursued the funds, certain nonprofit organizations were not eligible to receive a PPP loan.
Gull Lake Country Club, located about 15 miles northeast of Kalamazoo, was an ineligible nonprofit at the time, Totten said.
