7 Major Coronavirus Developments — RI Company Tagged As "Shyster" by CBS — April 21, 2020
GoLocalProv News Team
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — RI Company Tagged As "Shyster" by CBS — April 21, 2020
On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission charged Ponte Investments, LLC, and its owner with falsely claiming to be an approved lender for a federal coronavirus relief lending program and asked a federal court to immediately halt their misrepresentations.
The FTC’s complaint alleges that Ponte Investments, LLC, also doing business as SBA Loan Program and SBA Loan Program.com, and its owner John C. Ponte, have been falsely claiming an affiliation with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and marketing themselves to small businesses as an approved lender under SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe PPP is a program authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). According to the FTC, the defendants are neither affiliated with the SBA in any way, nor are they an SBA-authorized lender. The program exhausted its $349 billion fund last week leaving many small businesses without funding.
“In this time of incredible challenge for all Americans, it is disturbing to see these defendants preying on desperate businesses looking for ways to keep their employees financially secure,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “The FTC is on guard, and we will act to protect consumers from scammers looking to take advantage of this crisis.”
Now, the national media is picking up the story. CBS News featured a story about Ponte, "Another thing for small businesses to worry about: A phony Paycheck Protection lender."
Ponte has defended his action. His company issued a statement to GoLocal over the weekend stating, in part:
On April 10th the SBA indicated that audited financial statements were all that was required to complete the process. PI hired a well-respected accounting firm to handle the request for financials and that effort is well underway, with completion imminent. 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. Any and all outreach efforts to potential applicants have been suspended and information that was prematurely posted on the company’s website has been removed. Additionally, the marketing firm that prematurely began outreach efforts to applicants has been terminated.
PI is not some new sort of startup with the intention getting into the lending business. PI has been in the business of navigating SBA loans on behalf of thousands of clients for years. Unfortunately, there are bad actors during this time of economic crisis that are attempting to take advantage of people – that is not the case with PI.
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.
READ THE REST OF PONTE'S STATEMENT HERE
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — April 21, 2020
Trump to Block Immigration
President Donald Trump announced in a tweet late Monday night that he plans to suspend immigration to the United States.
Trump tweeted:
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”
It was tweeted at 10:06 PM on Monday night.
RI's Unemployment Will Likely Pierce 250,000 This Week
According to data from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, thousands continue to file for unemployment and benefits daily.
Through Sunday, for 38 consecutive days, 3,000 or more have filed with DLT.
Counting the 20,000 Rhode Islanders that were unemployed before the coronavirus controversy -- Rhode Islanders out of work will hit 239,849 -- or more.
Pawtucket and Central Remain RI's Hot Spots
Combined Pawtucket and Central Falls amount for about 8.5% of Rhode Island's population, but the two Blackstone Valley communities are trending for 12.5% of all the positive coronavirus cases -- 47% higher than the state average.
How Much Has Rhode Island Been Slowed Down?
"The coronavirus pandemic has replaced the hustle and bustle of everyday life with social distancing. Americans are discouraged, or even legally prevented, from going out except for essential errands or work," reports WalletHub.
Rhode Island ranks 18th as most "slowed-down."
Who has been impacted the most? Hawaii #1 and New York #2
The least impacted -- Nebraska
"Some industries have naturally suffered from this more than others – retail and recreation visits are down 45 percent from their normal rates, while transit stations have seen a decrease of 49 percent, for example. However, the drop-off in people leaving their homes has been less pronounced in some states than others," adds WalletHub.
U.S. Oil Market Has Collapsed
In normal times, the news that an entire sector of the economy has collapsed would be the biggest story in the world. During the coronavirus crisis, it is just another storyline.
"Oil has plummeted to its lowest levels in nearly four decades. And some small crude producers—many of them backed by private equity—stand to lose the most.
The price on the May futures contract of West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark crude, closed at a new low of minus $37.63 a barrel—down some 300%—Monday. Crude barrels were priced at more than $60 apiece in January.
This latest price dip could spell doom for many US oil producers, since it's nearly impossible to turn a profit at $30 per barrel, much less sub-zero prices. Those most likely to face bankruptcy are small independent producers, which operate under higher capital costs than integrated giants like Exxon Mobil or BP," reports PitchBook.
Numbers
5,090 Cases in Rhode Island
39,643 Cases in Massachusetts
155 Deaths in RI
1,809 Deaths in Massachusetts
793,505 Cases in the United States
42,604 Deaths in the United States
2,506,411 Global Cases
171,373 Global Deaths
667,687 Global Recoveries
GoLocal LIVE, Tuesday, April 21, 2020
10:00 AM Zach Levesque, Northpointe Bank -- Discussion of mortgage rates and the real estate market
12:00 PM Dr. Michael Fine, Former Rhode Island Director of Health
1:00 PM Governor Gina Raimondo
3:00 PM Prof. Jennifer Lawless, University of Virginia -- Discussion of President Trump's reelection and VP Joe Biden's campaigns
