Restaurant group with Strip location falsely obtained federal loans

A restaurant group with a Las Vegas location agreed to pay millions after falsely obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Azumi Limited Restaurants, which owns and operates Zuma in the Cosmopolitan casino-hotel, agreed to pay back $3,602,423 in a settlement agreement with U.S. Department of Justice after violating the False Claims Act by obtaining PPP loans, according to a news release from the DOJ. Other Azumi entities include Zuma NYC; Zuma Japanese Restaurant Miami; Inko Nito Garey St.; and Beach Chu Hallandale.

Azumi admitted to collectively receiving and were granted loan forgiveness for a second draw of PPP loans in a total amount that exceeded the applicable corporate group limit, according to the DOJ.

Additionally, some claims were brought to the DOJ under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, where a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery, according to the DOJ. As a result, a private party will receive approximately $360,000.

“The Paycheck Protection Program limits were put in place to prevent large corporate groups from obtaining a disproportionate share of the limited funds that were available to assist small businesses struggling during COVID,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley in a statement. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who misappropriated taxpayer-funded relief program limits.”

PPP loans, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, were established by Congress in March 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were intended to aid small businesses struggling to pay employees and other expenses during the time.

“PPP loans were intended to assist eligible small businesses during the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, in a statement. “When ineligible businesses improperly obtained loans, they harmed both the taxpayers who funded the program and the eligible businesses who were denied relief.”

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.