Strand Bookstore, Owned by Sen. Wyden's Wife, Pays $1.48M Over PPP Loan

The Strand, the iconic New York City bookstore run by Nancy Bass Wyden, wife of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), will pay $1,482,560 to resolve False Claims Act allegations over a Paycheck Protection Program loan, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The store applied in February 2021 for a $932,350 second-draw PPP loan and received it. Congress barred second-draw loans to businesses in which a member of Congress or spouse "directly or indirectly held a controlling interest." DOJ says Bass Wyden certified that no such interest existed and that the certification was "knowingly and materially false" because she was the controlling owner.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said the PPP was meant to save American jobs, not benefit ineligible people, and that her office's Fraud and Asset Recovery Division would pursue those who misuse taxpayer dollars.

Bass Wyden told Fox Business the violation was "unintentional." She said the rules were changing quickly during the pandemic, that the restriction was enacted between the first and second PPP rounds, and that she blames the store's accountant and the administering bank for not catching the change. She said the funds were returned once the issue was raised, expressed regret, and urged that the matter be judged "objectively" and free from political considerations.

Fox Business said it reached out to Sen. Wyden's office; the article does not include a response.