PPP Loan Fraud Investigation: A Growing Concern

Stay tuned, it might be a bit until I post it as I am still doing my investigation on the matter…

It interesting a company needing a PPP loan would have H1B visa with a decision date on it for 2/27/20 with their begin date being 6/12/20

H1B Visa for that person can be found here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uFn0G0eIteErtzB5MhgGMepWusGXBHyL/view?usp=drivesdk

Other H1B visas for the company for the 2018, 2019 and 2021 can be seen here

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17KlOqcVQHzMmn-27Yek07np-SvU9THBD

I pulled the H1B visas from the following site

https://www.immihelp.com/employer/Exegy_Incorporated/applications/

They have also hired three others the year they took out the loan

https://www.waterstechnology.com/management-strategy/7698411/people-moves-exegy-aquis-exchange-xenomorph-and-more

You can also even see the following on David Taylor Twitter account

https://x.com/DTaylorDSc/status/1318571985631399936

Interesting that an officer at Exegy signed this

The "Good Faith" Certification (The "Why")

This is often the pivot point for fraud cases. An authorized officer of the company had to sign a statement certifying:

"Current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant."

The company customers are usually all under contract so they most likely always knew how much they had coming in as revenue.

Plus with the hiring of 13 individuals the previous year with forecasting, they should have known if they needed the money to really support their employees salaries, what kind of company goes around hiring 13 people without knowing if they can afford them over many years.

Plus Exegy is part of the critical infrastructure and I am sure the financial institutions using are too, which means they never closed down at all, since they deal with Live stock exchange data.

How does $2,478,407 help keep the company afloat when they most likely have over $10,000,000 in salaries to pay annually, that barely covered only a few months of salaries and hired three people that year.

Though I am curious about the H1B visa, when does a company have to file these visa and were the ones in 2021 filed in 2020.

I myself believe they took it out as a free handout and have found other cases out there of doing the same thing.

The L.A. Lakers: The NBA team received a $4.6 million loan. While technically eligible as a small business (under 500 employees), the idea of a billion-dollar sports franchise taking a "handout" caused a media firestorm. They returned the money.

So many questions that have so many answers that need to be found.

Stay tuned for my further investigation on the matter.

Though I have been having a long conversation with Google Gemini in the subject and it return things like this.

Full link to some of my conversation here

https://gemini.google.com/share/8a570f76dd1a

Designating Exegy Inc. as "Critical Infrastructure" is a double-edged sword in a fraud case. While it sounds like a good defense, legally, it often makes the argument for fraud stronger, not weaker.

Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS/CISA) guidelines, the "Financial Services Sector" is indeed Critical Infrastructure, and Exegy (which provides data to banks and exchanges) falls under this umbrella.

Here is how that designation impacts the legal analysis of their PPP loan.

1.The "Essential Business" Trap (Why it hurts them)

The primary reason companies needed PPP loans was that government lockdowns forced them to close or lose customers.

Non-Critical Business (e.g., a Restaurant): "The government forced me to close my doors. I have zero revenue. I need this loan to survive." -> Valid Necessity.
Critical Infrastructure (e.g., Exegy): "The government designated me 'Essential.' I am exempt from lockdowns. I am allowed to stay open and my customers (banks) are also open." -> Invalid Necessity.

The Legal Argument: If Exegy was "Critical Infrastructure," they were legally permitted to operate at full capacity. If they stayed open and their revenue went up (as the 50% sales jump indicates), they cannot claim the government forced them into distress. They were one of the few lucky companies allowed to conduct business as usual.

2. The "Secure Customer Base" Factor

You mentioned their customers are also Critical Infrastructure. This is a vital point for a fraud complaint.

Who they serve: Major banks, stock exchanges, and hedge funds.
The Customer Status: These financial institutions were also designated "Essential." The stock market never closed during the pandemic.
The Result: Exegy didn't just have permission to work; they had a guaranteed stream of wealthy clients who were also working. This is totally different from a supplier to the airline or restaurant industry, whose customers vanished overnight.

3. The "Double Dipping" Risk (Government Contractors)

Since Exegy provides data for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) (a government-mandated system for FINRA/SEC), they are effectively a government contractor.

The Rule: Federal laws strictly prohibit "double dipping"—getting paid by the government for a contract and getting a grant (PPP) to pay the same people to do that work.
The Violation: If Exegy used PPP money to pay engineers who were already being billed to the FINRA project, they may have committed specific fraud against the government contracting rules, not just the SBA rules.

4. Summary for Your Complaint

If you are drafting a legal argument, you can frame their "Critical Infrastructure" status as proof they did not need the money.

Draft Language:

"Exegy Inc.'s designation as 'Critical Infrastructure' within the Financial Services Sector serves as evidence against their need for federal relief. Unlike non-essential businesses forced to shutter by government mandate, Exegy was legally permitted to maintain full operations. Furthermore, their primary client base (major financial institutions) was also designated essential and remained solvent. Therefore, Exegy faced neither the operational closures nor the demand shock that the CARES Act was designed to mitigate."

Visualizing the Argument

I have created a diagram to help you visualize how the "Critical Infrastructure" designation shifts the legal burden from "Survival" to "Profiteering."