Delta repays government to settle claims it misused COVID relief funds

Delta Air Lines has paid the federal administration million to settle asserts that it misused a portion of the billion in taxpayer dollars it received as crisis aid during the pandemic according to the Justice Department The U S Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia investigated after a whistleblower alleged Delta had violated executive pay limits connected with the federal funding billion of it in the form of grants that didn t have to be repaid A cap on executive pay was supposed to be in effect between March and April Federal attorneys concluded Delta had paid selected executives more than that the U S Attorney s Office communicated Tuesday adding that Delta then allegedly falsely certified its compliance with the caps and failed to notify the Treasury Department of its breach of the agreement If true this would have been a violation of the rules of the Payroll Encouragement Initiative established by Congress under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Safeguard Act Delta s payment settled the statements without determining liability prosecutors noted noting that the whistleblower got a cut of the settlement money Still U S Attorney Theodore S Hertzberg suggested the company misused general dollars When companies accept federal assistance especially generous pandemic-relief funds like those at issue here they owe a duty to the American people to respect the conditions placed on those funds Hertzberg disclosed We will continue to enforce all available laws to punish the misuse of taxpayers money The post Delta repays leadership to settle indicates it misused COVID relief funds appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta