Michigan Manufacturer to Pay $1.5 Million Over PPP Loan Claims

3CON Corporation, a manufacturer based in Wixom, Michigan, will pay just over $1.5 million to resolve federal allegations that it lied to qualify for a pandemic relief loan, the Justice Department said, according to CBS News.

The company, which builds automated production equipment for automotive and life sciences customers, received a second-draw Paycheck Protection Program loan of $828,498 in January 2021. At the time of the application, it had common ownership with a company in Austria, federal officials said.

Prosecutors alleged that counting workers at the company and its overseas affiliates, 3CON employed more than 300 people, exceeding the Small Business Administration's headcount ceiling for second-draw loans, and that telling the agency otherwise violated the False Claims Act.

Congress established the loan program in March 2020 to help employers hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. The loans were backed by the SBA and could later be forgiven.

The settlement total is $1,500,439.50. The case began as a whistleblower suit brought in December 2025 by Verity Investigations, LLC, which will receive roughly $150,000. The False Claims Act lets private parties sue on the government's behalf and keep as much as 30% of what is recovered, according to Cornell Law School.

Wixom sits in Oakland County, about 34 miles northwest of Detroit.

This story was first reported by CBS News.