Jewish Voice for Peace committed fraud to obtain six-figure COVID relief loan, DOJ says

JVP, according to federal prosecutors, applied for and received a second-draw loan and loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was not open to groups primarily engaged in political advocacy.

By Alana Goodman, The Washington Free Beacon

Jewish Voice for Peace, the prominent anti-Israel group that’s organized illegal protests attacking the Jewish state, committed federal loan fraud to obtain a six-figure COVID relief check, the Department of Justice announced.

JVP falsely portrayed itself as a non-political group to obtain over $300,000 in federal paycheck protection funding, federal prosecutors said in a press release.

It was forced to pay $677,634 to the federal government to settle the allegations under the False Claims Act.

The news comes as JVP faces suspensions on college campuses for organizing pro-Hamas rallies. Lawmakers have also called on the IRS to revoke JVP’s tax-exempt status, arguing that the group has supported illegal encampments at universities and “has a history of sharing antisemitic tropes, expressing support for violence and terrorism, and vilifying Zionism and Zionists.”

Just days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, meanwhile, JVP organized an illegal protest in which activists infiltrated the Capitol and accused Israel of “genocide.”

JVP, according to federal prosecutors, applied for and received a second-draw loan and loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was not open to groups primarily engaged in political advocacy.

As part of the application process, JVP claimed it was “not a business concern or entity primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities.”

However, an “investigation revealed that [JVP] was primarily engaged in political activities,” according to the DOJ.

In response to the allegations, the group told authorities its false claims were “inadvertent” and agreed to repay double the loan amount to avoid civil charges and additional financial penalties.

George Soros’s Open Society Foundations has given JVP at least $650,000 since 2017 to fund “human rights” work in the Middle East.

JVP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The Paycheck Protection Act Program existed to help businesses survive a devastating global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.

“When business owners unfairly drain those funds—either by not reading the eligibility requirements or disregarding them—they put the entire program at risk.”