On July 15, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Delta Air Lines had agreed to pay $8.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) “by awarding compensation to certain corporate officers and employees that exceeded the compensation limits Delta agreed to as part of its participation in the Department of the Treasury’s Payroll Support Program (PSP).”
Established in 2020 and administered by the Department of the Treasury, the PSP provided payroll support to passenger and cargo air carriers and certain contractors for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating air carriers were required to enter into written agreements with Treasury that imposed certain conditions in exchange for the receipt of PSP funds, including limitations on the amount of compensation that PSP participants could pay to certain corporate officers and employees earning annual compensation in excess of $425,000.
The government alleged that Delta agreed to these compensation limits when it entered into PSP agreements in 2020 and 2021, but then violated those agreements when it awarded compensation to some corporate officers and employees that exceeded the limits set by the PSP agreements. According to the DOJ’s press release, “Delta allegedly violated the False Claims Act by inaccurately certifying compliance with PSP requirements in quarterly reports submitted to Treasury, as well as by not notifying Treasury of the breach once it was discovered by Delta, which would have given the government the right to demand the return of funds.”
The investigation was the result of a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the FCA. The whistleblower appears to be a Professor of Business Analytics at a university in Texas, suggesting that he may have utilized publicly-available data to build his case. The settlement agreement is available here. The press release notes that the whistleblower will receive $850,500 in connection with the settlement.
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The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent businesses and individuals in connection with False Claims Act investigations and litigation. If you need assistance with such a matter please contact us.