Church’s PPP loan questioned
Praise Experience World Outreach received more than $36,000 in relief money for 12 employees, but state says it has no record of these workers
TAMARAC — A Tamarac city commissioner’s church received more than $36,000 in federal loans that are meant to help struggling workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but public records show the church might not have qualified for the money.
Tamarac Commissioner Marlon Bolton is the president and pastor of the Praise Experience World Outreach Church, situated in a North Lauderdale strip shopping center on State Road 7.
Bolton’s church received a $25,300 loan on May 1, 2020, and another $11,000 on March 3, 2021, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which tracks loan data from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, also known as PPP. For each loan, 12 employees were reported.
Under Florida law, employers must provide workers’ compensation insurance for their employees, but the state says the church provided no record of having the employees, as is required. A violation of worker compensation requirements could lead to fines, citations or criminal charges, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.
The agency’s website says it also could require a business to stop all operations until it complies with the law and pays a penalty.
“We did look up Praise Experience World Outreach Church Inc. and Marlon Bolton in our Division of Workers’ Compensation Portal and have found no records,” according to John O’Brien, press secretary for the Florida Department of Financial Services.
The church would need mandatory workers’ compensation in Florida for four or more employees, he said. O’Brien also said there are no records that Bolton, or anyone else from the church, asked for an exemption.
When contacted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Bolton declined to comment about the church loans. Other church representatives couldn’t be reached for comment.
He did not respond for further comment to two follow-up emails to clarify the discrepancy between what the church reported to the federal government and the state — and which of the two sets of records is incorrect.
A spokeswoman for the federal SBA would not comment about the discrepancy, either.
Verifying accuracy
All PPP borrowers must certify they meet the eligibility requirements and attest to having lost 25% in revenue, said Victoria Guerrero, the SBA spokeswoman. Lenders review the borrower’s application and supporting documentation and make an approval determination.
Before making the loan, the SBA checks for any wrong information such as whether the borrower is listed as deceased or using a duplicate tax identification number, “and other checks.”
“These compliance checks are part of a new process established for PPP loans made in 2021,” Guerrero said. “Unlike in the first rounds of PPP in 2020, SBA loan guarantees are contingent on passing these front-end SBA compliance checks during the application process.”
The loans were made available under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, first enacted in March 2020 to keep businesses afloat and avoid having to lay off workers.
Businesses must use PPP loans for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. In the SBA paperwork for Bolton’s church, the loan amounts were listed as payroll expenses for both years.
Last winter a federal judge ruled that the SBA had to make the loan information public record because disclosure could shed light on possible inequities in who received the loans and on potential fraud by borrowers.
Karl Olson, an attorney for the American Small Business League in California, has no familiarity with Bolton or his church. But generally speaking, he said the PPP program was intended to help “the mom-and-pop businesses on Main Street and keep them afloat” but the program has been rife with problems.
“You have a situation where they were rushing a lot of money out the door and they didn’t want to put too many bureaucratic hoops in the way of small businesses and force them to go through too much red tape,” he said.
Through the years
As a city politician, Bolton has drawn attention at City Hall in recent years.
He was investigated for creating a hostile workplace by employees who said they were bullied and threatened, and once was accused by city staff of overbilling on city travel.
He was most recently criticized by residents for being part of the commission majority that approved a new $25,000 personal expenses and initiative fund, as well as a $15,000 fund for local travel per person, on top of all their other existing funds, stipends and salary.
Most recently, in an item originally scheduled to go before commissioners earlier this month but that was since removed, the city pondered in a memo the possibility of having commissioners approve for themselves “100%” health insurance benefits, new retirement benefits, and new technology and education stipends.
Only one of those items is scheduled for approval this Wednesday: $15,000 for furniture for Bolton’s office, including cabinets, tables, cinnamon-colored chairs and drawers.