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PPP wrongly denied to business owners with felonious past, lawsuit charges
Mark Weissman was filling out his federal Paycheck Protection Program application when he was asked if he has a criminal history. The answer was yes, which automatically disqualified his real estate business in Cedarhurst on Long Island. “It was another punch in the stomach,” said Weissman, who laid off four employees. “You try to think…
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SBA Sued Over Criminal History Bar For Biz Relief Loans
A Maryland business owner is suing to force the Small Business Administration to open the Paycheck Protection Program to borrowers with a criminal past, claiming the agency can’t pick and choose “who is and is not morally worthy” of aid from the coronavirus relief loan program. In a complaint filed in Baltimore federal court, Altimont…
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Store Owner on Parole Challenges Policy Barring Him From PPP Loan
A Maryland storeowner sued the Small Business Administration, alleging the agency exceeded its statutory authority when it decided to limit the availability of pandemic relief loans to business owners with a criminal record. The lawsuit was filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of Altimont Mark Wilks, who was barred from receiving a Paycheck Protection…
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Criminal record shouldn't bar small businesses from COVID-19 payroll loans, suit says
Small business owners with a criminal record aren’t eligible to receive certain government aid under the coronavirus relief bill designed to help keep stores afloat while the pandemic drags on. The owner of a corner store in Maryland is looking to change that. Altimont Mark Wilks – who owns two businesses in Hagerstown, Maryland – sued…
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Lawsuit challenges criminal history bar on emergency COVID-19 loans
A Maryland convenience store owner has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Small Business Administration’s prohibition of businesses owned by people with criminal histories from applying for emergency loans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit that Altimont Mark Wilks filed in federal court in Baltimore on Wednesday is according to his lawyers at the…
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