Our Story

I am a housing provider in Los Angeles, California, and have been for over 20 years. When the pandemic hit in 2020, everything changed overnight. Like millions of other small business owners across America, I was suddenly facing the unthinkable — the possibility of losing the business I had spent years building, and the livelihoods of the people who depended on it.

The Paycheck Protection Program felt like a lifeline. It was presented as emergency relief for small businesses during the most uncertain time in modern history. I reviewed the SBA guidance under SOP 50 10 5(K), Subpart B, Chapter 2, Section III(h) — which permitted businesses engaged in renting or leasing to use revenue projections to determine eligibility — and hired the necessary employees per the guidelines once the loan was funded. I applied in good faith, through my small business, Passive Income Advisors, LLC, followed the guidelines as I understood them, and used the funds to do exactly what the program intended — protect jobs and save businesses.

Then came the investigation. A private attorney named Bryan Quesenberry — who has filed dozens of similar cookie-cutter lawsuits against small PPP borrowers across the country — sued me under the False Claims Act. The Department of Justice intervened and has pursued the case against me ever since. That was four (4) years ago.

During the litigation, the government formally acknowledged in its own court filings that the SBA regulations used to challenge my eligibility — specifically the SBA SOP 50-10 provisions — were legally ambiguous. The False Claims Act requires proof that a defendant "knowingly" made a false claim. If the rules were ambiguous, there can be no knowing fraud. Yet after four (4) years, no fraud judgment has ever been entered against me — because the evidence does not support one.

Over the course of this four (4) year legal battle, I have spent approximately $500,000 in legal fees defending myself — under regulations the government itself admits were ambiguous. The financial and emotional toll has been devastating. I also suffer from progressive peripheral neuropathy, a debilitating neurological condition that causes chronic pain, numbness, and weakness. The cost of defending myself against the full resources of the United States government, with no end in sight, became impossible to sustain.

On March 11, 2026, I was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A person who received a loan in good faith, under rules the government itself calls ambiguous, should not be driven into bankruptcy by a four (4) year federal prosecution that has yet to produce a single finding of fraud.

Now, incredibly, the DOJ is fighting in federal court to prevent my bankruptcy case from resolving this dispute — insisting on continuing full False Claims Act trial proceedings while I simultaneously attempt to reorganize my finances in bankruptcy court. I cannot afford simultaneous litigation in two federal courts. The government can. This is not a fair fight.

I know firsthand how isolating and frightening this experience can be. The sleepless nights, the uncertainty, the feeling that the system you trusted has turned against you. I started PPP Fairness because I believe that small business owners who acted in good faith deserve fair treatment — not fear, not financial ruin, and not a four (4) year prosecution under rules the government admits were unclear.

If you are going through something similar, I want you to know: you are not alone. PPP Fairness exists to connect affected small business owners, share resources, and advocate for the fair treatment we all deserve.