WASHINGTON — A complaint by the Federal Trade Commission said a company was falsely claiming to an approved lender under the federal coronavirus relief program and misled hundreds to thousands of small business owners who submitted applications to the business.
The complaint said Ponte Investments, LLC. which operates a business called “SBA Loan Program” falsely claimed it was affiliated with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
PPP provides loans for small businesses so they can pay their employees and stay in operation during the pandemic.
"Small businesses want this relief and the idea that they can get it quickly or that someone is promising high chances of success are things that are very enticing and things small businesses need to be on the lookout for,” FTC attorney Thomas Widor said.
The FTC said the company posted that it was a “direct lender” for the PPP on its website.
"SBA Loan Program really played on its name to mislead consumers that it was the SBA,” Widor said.
Bill Fischer, a spokesperson for Ponte Investments, LLC. said:
“When the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was announced, John Ponte, founder of PI, applied to the SBA to become an authorized lender. That application is pending and Mr. Ponte continues to supply the SBA with the information they need to successfully approve his application.
In anticipation of approval as a direct lender, information was prematurely posted on the company’s website and an out-of-state marketing firm prematurely began an outreach effort. Clearly, this was in error that Mr. Ponte deeply regrets. No loan applications were completed during this brief period of time and no fees were charged and/or collected.
The accusations alleged in the FTC’s complaint related to Mr. Ponte’s motivations are not applicable and are unfounded. PI has operated its business in an ethical manner over the years and has contributed generously to many charities in the community. Mr. Ponte only wants to correct the errors that were made in a somewhat frenzied buildup to launch the program.”
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