Universal Environmental Services, a Peachtree City-based oil recycling company, will pay $2.6 million to resolve federal allegations that it improperly obtained and received forgiveness for a COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program loan.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced the settlement July 27, alleging the company reported 287 employees while counting only its domestic workforce. Prosecutors say its German parent, Avista Oil Group, and the broader corporate family employed well over 300 people.
Loan records compiled from Small Business Administration data show UES received a $2 million second-draw loan Feb. 24, 2021, and the loan was forgiven Sept. 20, 2021. SBA rules generally limited second-draw loans to businesses with no more than 300 employees, including affiliates, and capped them at $2 million.
Federal officials said a bank approved the loan based on UES’s employee count and the SBA later paid the forgiven amount at taxpayer expense. The settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to bring fraud claims on the government’s behalf and share in recoveries.
Verity Investigations LLC filed the whistleblower case and will receive $312,000. UES must pay the whistleblower’s attorney fees.
UES says it serves customers across 25 states and collects more than 80 million gallons of used oil annually. The company is headquartered in Peachtree City and operates an oil re-refinery there.
The settlement is civil, not criminal. UES did not admit liability, and prosecutors stressed that no court has determined it violated the law. CBS Atlanta sought comment from UES but had not received a response when its report was published.
U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said false information on government-backed loan applications diverts money from eligible businesses and pledged continued enforcement to recover taxpayer funds and penalties.
