San Mateo-based Fujisoft America agrees to pay $1M for lying to get pandemic loans

San Mateo-based technology services company Fujisoft America has agreed to pay $1 million to resolve allegations it lied about its business to obtain $400,000 in forgivable emergency pandemic loans, according to federal officials.

As part of the settlement announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, the company admitted it knew it didn’t qualify for the two federal Paycheck Protection Program loans because it had more than 500 employees and lied about its size to seek loan forgiveness, officials said.

The company also admitted it falsely claimed it had experienced a revenue decrease of more than 25% during the pandemic to get one of the loans, DOJ said.

Fujisoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

“PPP loans were intended as economic lifelines for small businesses during the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for large companies to claim a portion of this limited pool of PPP funds, which was meant for small businesses, in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer.”

Fujisoft America’s parent company, Fujisoft, is publicly traded in Japan and has over 15,000 employees across its various subsidiaries.