RICHLAND, WA – The United States Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that BNL Technical Services, LLC, was sentenced for a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19 relief funding. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian ordered BNL to pay restitution in the amount of $493,865.
The Court further sentenced BNL to one year of probation to ensure that the restitution is paid promptly and in full. Acting U.S. Attorney Barker further announced that BNL’s owner, Wilson Pershing Stevenson III, of Nashville, Tennessee, paid $1,105,498 as part of an affirmative civil fraud settlement in the case to resolve his individual liability arising from BNL’s receipt of COVID relief funding.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, between 2020 and 2021, BNL provided contract labor services to Hanford Site prime contractors. BNL’s labor costs and payroll continued to be paid by DOE throughout the pandemic, including when BNL employees were not able to physically work at the site and instead were teleworking or simply home in “ready” status.
In April of 2020, BNL applied for and received a $493,865 loan as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Congress created the PPP in March 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide funding to small businesses in order to mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for small and local businesses. PPP loans were fully guaranteed by the United States, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may grant a small business borrower forgiveness so long as the loan proceeds have been used for payroll and other eligible expenses.
BNL fraudulently sought and obtained PPP funding for BNL employees despite their pay and benefits already being covered by DOE contract funds and other federal sources including the Veterans Administration. Shortly after receiving the funds, BNL transferred and used more than $424,230 of the PPP proceeds on unauthorized expenditures.
In August of 2021, BNL, through its sole owner Wilson Pershing Stevenson III, requested and was granted forgiveness of the $493,865 PPP loan, by falsely and fraudulently certifying the loan proceeds had been used for eligible uses and business expenses between April and October of 2020.
“We are proud of our law enforcement partners, without which we could not have uncovered and successfully prosecuted this blatant and fraudulent misuse of PPP funds,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rich Barker. “Our COVID-19 Strike Force continues to hold accountable those that fraudulently obtained and misused federal funds set aside to help small businesses in our community. I am so proud of our team of prosecutors, led by White Collar Chief Dan Fruchter, for building this Strike Force and holding accountable those who defrauded the United States.”
“The misuse of critical emergency funds intended for those personally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic defrauds taxpayers and deprives legitimate recipients of important assistance at a time it was needed most,” stated Lewe F. Sessions, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Office of Inspector General, Department of Energy. “The Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General continues to pursue such fraudulent claims submitted by our employees and contractors.”
“This sentencing sends a message that the VA Office of Inspector General will diligently pursue those who would illegally line their pockets at the expense of the taxpayer,” said Special Agent in Charge Dimitriana Nikolov with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northwest Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners as part of the COVID-19 Strike Force to investigate fraud against relief programs intended to support bona fide recipients.”
“Today’s sentencing is a testament to the OIG’s unwavering commitment to protecting our small business support programs and bringing fraudsters to justice,” said SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge, Weston King. “I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners for their diligence and pursuit of justice.”
