Tornado Bus Company, Inc. and El Expreso Group, LLC, two affiliated Dallas-based bus companies that operate numerous international bus routes between the United States and Mexico, agreed to pay $3.9 million to resolve allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by applying for and receiving loans that they were not eligible for in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tornado Bus and El Expreso applied for and received PPP loans in the combined principal amount of approximately $2.8 million in 2021, which loans were later forgiven in full. The government contended, however, that Tornado Bus and El Expreso were not qualified small businesses eligible for these loans because they were related entities and collectively exceeded the applicable size standard.
The settlement resolved a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit is case number 3:25-CV-3101-N in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and the qui tam relator, Blockquote, Inc., will receive $390,000 in connection with the settlement.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas
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