CoreLife Eatery, a fast-casual restaurant chain with locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky, will pay $7.8 million to settle allegations of pandemic relief fraud. Federal officials announced Monday that CoreLife admitted to falsely claiming it was eligible for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grant.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the company violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the size of its operations to qualify for federal funding.
CoreLife falsely certified eligibility for federal relief
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund, created under the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, aimed to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn. Businesses with more than 20 locations as of March 13, 2020, were not eligible for RRF grants.
CoreLife, however, owned and operated 29 locations by that date. Despite this, the company submitted an application in May 2021, falsely certifying that it met the eligibility requirement. The application explicitly asked whether the applicant had more than 20 locations, and CoreLife’s managing member answered “no.” He also initialed next to a statement confirming compliance.
“This company diverted critical relief funds from eligible recipients and eroded public trust in vital pandemic programs,” U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said in a statement.
Settlement includes whistleblower award
The case began when a private individual filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act. As part of the settlement, the whistleblower will receive more than $1.17 million.
“This settlement shows that wrongfully obtaining taxpayer dollars will not go unnoticed,” said Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Special Agent in Charge for the SBA Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Region.
In addition, officials emphasized that the case is part of a broader effort to hold businesses accountable for fraud involving pandemic relief programs.
Broader efforts to protect federal funds
The investigation involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the SBA Office of General Counsel. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam J. Katz and Christopher R. Moran, along with Department of Justice Trial Attorney Samuel Robins, led the case.
Officials stressed that the Department of Justice remains committed to enforcing the False Claims Act and recovering taxpayer money lost to fraud.
The case is officially titled United States ex rel. Howitt v. CoreLife Eatery, LLC, et al., No. 3:24-cv-0263 (N.D.N.Y.).
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